Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today expressed sadness that some irresponsible groups tried to belittle the role and contribution of the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and tarnished the image of the force with various slanders and untruths.

He said such actions were improper and immoral, especially if they were made based on certain objectives influenced by narrow political ideology.

"This is because no one can deny that history had shown that the deeds and contributions of the PDRM to the people and country were immense," he said when officiating the 210th Police Day Memorial Parade 2017 at Pulapol (Police Training Centre), here.

Also present were his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Deputy Prime Minister cum Home Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.

Najib also touched on the sacrifices of the police personnel from the past until now who were ready to sacrifice their lives to uphold peace and order in the country.

He said the attack by a group of 185 communist terrorists on the Bukit Kepong Police Station in 1950, which killed 25 police personnel, their wives and children, as well as local villagers, and the bloody incident in Lahad Datu in 2013, were among sacrifices made by members of the police and security forces.

"How can we forget the tragedy (Lahad Datu incident) which saw how women had lost their husbands, children who lost their beloved fathers, as they were killed in the battle against the attackers," he said.

The 210th Police Day Memorial Parade 2017 this time carries the theme 'The Police and the Community Are Inseparable'.

Meanwhile, Najib said all the successes and recognition achieved by Malaysia would not have been possible without peace and prosperity enjoyed all this while with the assistance of and role played by police personnel.

Among the country's achievements mentioned by Najib were the launch of the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ), the first digital economic hub in the world outside China several days ago and the position of Kuala Lumpur as the 19th out of 100 most prosperous capital cities in the world in the Sustainable Cities Index 2016.

"All these would not have been successfully realised without making security and peace as fundamental issues, which were among the major prerequisites for national development and prosperity," he said.

Meanwhile, Najib praised the efficiency of the police in handling the murder case of North Korean national, Kim Jong-nam.

On Feb 13, Jong-nam was killed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 while waiting for a flight to Macau.

He said although the high-profile case had attracted worldwide attention, the police had acted swiftly in unraveling the case, besides demonstrating high professionalism in handling the investigation.

In the meantime, Najib said the government realised the tasks and responsibility of the PDRM in facing challenges which were becoming more complex and difficult including white-collar crime involving the abuse of complex computerised technology; cross-border organised crime and cyber crime.

"Thus, I believe that as a dynamic and progressive enforcement organisation, the PDRM must carry out transformation, move in line with current demands, environmental changes and increasing public expectation," he said.

In this regard, Najib welcomed the numerous initiatives carried out by the police in tackling crime, including the Voluntary Smartphone Patrol (VSP) initiative launched today.

The VSP initiative is one of the programs under the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS), where the PDRM is the implementing agency, through engagements with more than 11 million users of smartphones throughout the country to beef up crime monitoring activities by involving the community as the 'eyes' and 'ears' of the PDRM. --Bernama