Amid focus on IPCMC, Kit Siang highlights welfare aspect of police reforms

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang today highlighted the welfare of police officers amid the focus on the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

In a statement today, Lim pointed out that the Royal Police Commission, which recommended the formation of the IPCMC in 2005, had also made various suggestions to improve the welfare of police personnel.

"Apart from its key recommendation for the establishment of an IPCMC – which the police have now agreed to after blocking it for the past 14 years – the Royal Police Commission, which was headed by former chief justice Mohamad Dzaiddin and former and longest-serving inspector-general of police Hanif Omar, made 11 recommendations to improve the welfare of the police force," he said.

Lim noted that the Royal Police Commission's report will be reviewed by the parliamentary caucus on governance and institutional reforms, chaired by Port Dickson MP Anwar Ibrahim, to study whether these 11 recommendations have been implemented in the time since.

"I will suggest at the next meeting of the parliamentary caucus that the police be asked to present a progress report on these recommendations to improve the welfare of the police personnel, as part of the programme to ensure that Malaysians have a top world-class police force to keep them safe from crime," said the Iskandar Puteri MP.

The 11 recommendations are:

• Redeploying police personnel to positions that require police competency on policing, administrative roles;
• Providing special allowance for police personnel stationed in major cities, such as the Klang Valley, Johor Bahru, and George Town to offset the higher cost of living faced by them;
• Improving the current Police Training Centre (Pulapol) and increasing investment in training personnel;
• Implementing career planning for all police personnel to improve motivation and commitment. This includes grooming for top management posts and as part of the IGP’s succession plan;
• Addressing the inadequate and ageing vehicle fleet. The commission recommended that the police define its own policies with regard to extending the operational lifetime of a vehicle, and for police to dispose of their vehicles after five years in the market to obtain an optimum market price to ensure continuous renewal of the fleet;
• Increasing the size of the mobile patrol vehicle fleet to enable greater police presence and patrol;
• Providing sufficient funding to the weaponry division to replace obsolete weapons that are costly to maintain, investing in the police bomb squad by procuring more bulletproof vests and non-lethal weapons, and constructing a new weapon storage facility far from living quarters;
• Identifying old and badly maintained police houses and either restore or replace them if not economical. Restoration or replacement should be done according to current housing standards;
• Identifying locations where housing is critically needed and provide housing to police personnel in those areas;
• Where land is at a premium and building housing is too expensive, the government is recommended to acquire buildings such as apartments to be rented to policed personnel. Other alternative housing options are also encouraged to provide the best housing solution to these personnel; and
• Providing adequate funding to maintain police premises, including police stations, as some of the premises are very old and not well equipped for the purpose. - Mkini