PUTRAJAYA: A police officer or civil servant who is appointed on contract can be terminated or have the service shortened at any time, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

In this regard he said the replacement of the Inspection-General of Police (IGP) which was earlier held by Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani with his deputy Tan Sri Razarudin Husain was a normal process.

"Nothing controversial, don't read beyond that. I have earlier had an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah), later followed by the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) and the matter proceeded smoothly.

" ... I have also spoken to Tan Sri Acryl Sani ... and tomorrow (today) we will conduct the handover of duty ceremony at the Kuala Lumpur Police Training Centre (Pulapol), so there is nothing controversial," he said in an exclusive media editor session with the Home Minister at the Home Ministry Complex here yesterday.

He was commenting on the appointment of Razarudin as the new IGP to replace Acryl Sani effective June 23 as announced by him in a statement yesterday.

Acryl Sani was earlier appointed as IGP on contract after retiring for two years effective from Oct 4 2021 which should end on Oct 4 this year.

Saifuddin clarified that on principle, police officers with the rank of Commissioner of Police (CP) are eligible to be appointed for the post of IGP or deputy IGP.

"PDRM has 25 officers with the rank of CP. They are the pool of talent to hold these two posts, currently they are occupying positions in Bukit Aman departments or as state police chief or in special branch.

"Currently, we have 47 officers with the rank of deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and this is the talent of police officers that will be involved if there is a vacancy for the position," he said.

He said they will be evaluated based on several criteria including integrity, a good understanding of public security and order, in addition to experience and academic qualifications.

Meanwhile, he also expressed his appreciation to Acryl Sani for the services he provided during his tenure as Inspector-General of Police.

"I am comfortable with the level of cooperation with him, he is very conducive, it is not difficult to work with him who manages a lot of matters on peace and public order professionally as long as the police force is under his leadership," he said.

-- BERNAMA