Cops still getting budget to spy on communists

Despite an overall reduction in the budget for the police force in 2014, the allocation for security intelligence, which includes dealing with communist threats, has increased.

According to the Federal Expenditure Estimate (FEE) 2014 for the Home Ministry, the budget for the police force has dropped from RM6.996 billion in 2013 to RM6.901 billion for next year.

However, the allocation to the police security intelligence division increased slightly, from RM389.1 million to RM393.6 million.

According to the FEE, the security intelligence unit conducts "covert and overt intelligence activities on communist threats, subversive and extremist elements and also spying on internal and external threats".

Furthermore, crime investigation makes up just 7.3 percent of the total police budget, with a funding of RM533.3 million.

Funding under Budget 2014 for other categories of the police are: operations (RM2.876 billion), internal security and public order (RM1.840 billion), logistics (RM915.3 million), drug prevention (RM248 million) and commercial crime investigations (RM94.79 million).

‘Funds for weapons, inmproving public opinion'

Despite the overall reduction, the police will still receive several one-off funding to upgrade equipment, including RM54.4 million for bulletproof vests and weapons and RM6 million for bullets.

The force will also continue receiving special one off funding under the National Key Results Area (NKRA), including RM272.5 million to improve its safety perception index, RM22.2 million to reduce street crimes and RM20.4 million to reduce the overall index crime.

Other allocations include RM2.9 million to improve public satisfaction on police performance and RM50,000 to increase the charge rate of investigation papers opened.

Under a new policy category, the Home Ministry will also get RM6.3 million for CCTV maintenance in criminal investigation lock-up rooms.

The funding comes following repeated complaints of deaths in custody, with the CCTV cameras not functioning.