Bigger budget needed to beef up police force, say veterans

 

The police force needs a financial boost to improve its efficiency, says former commercial crime investigation department deputy director Ramli Mohd Nor.

PETALING JAYA: Two retired senior policemen have called for a substantial increase in the budget allocation for the force for next year.

Cameron Highlands MP Ramli Mohd Nor, a former deputy director at Bukit Aman’s commercial crime investigation department, told FMT the force needed a boost in financial resources to enhance its efficiency in the face of rising cyber crimes and to improve the welfare of police personnel.

Former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan agreed, saying cyber crimes were becoming more rampant and also that there was a need to improve accommodation facilities for policemen.

Ramli, who served the force for 34 years, said the force needed to be equipped with the latest policing techniques to effect improvements in responsiveness.

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He also said funds were needed to enable the police to strengthen ties with foreign counterparts and to exchange information with them in the interest of fighting transnational crimes.

“How can we catch Jho Low if there are no funds to move our men to investigate?” he said, referring to Low Taek Jho, the fugitive businessman linked to the 1MDB scandal.

He also said there was a need to upgrade and expand the force’s logistics and that patrol cars 10 years and older should be replaced and more helicopters should be supplied to improve surveillance and rescue missions.

Ramli also mentioned what he said was a lack of attention to the welfare of policemen.

“With their salary, which is in stark contrast to their Singaporean counterparts, they can’t afford to pay rent in the city,” he said.

Musa said many policemen had to live far away from their stations because of a shortage of official living quarters.

“The quarters themselves lack maintenance because there’s no budget for them,” he said. “Sometimes they have to wait until there’s major damage for repairs to be done. It’s a shame when other entities or the public have to help out.”

He called for salaries and allowances that would reflect the cost of living and for more opportunities for promotion.

Referring to cyber crimes, he said the government should allocate a substantial amount to enable the police to fight them.

“How can the police catch up with these cyber criminals if they don’t have the latest technology to track them down?” he said.

Hussin Awang Ngah, the president of the police veterans’ welfare association, called for the establishment of a veteran affairs department similar to the one that exists for the armed forces.

Police veteran affairs are currently under Bukit Aman’s management department.

Hussin said it lacked the budget to help veterans in need. He said some retired policemen needed items such as diapers, wheelchairs and walking sticks.

He claimed the association had had to resort to seeking donations from government-linked companies.

The military is also seeking a budget boost, asking for at least 1.5% of the gross domestic product.

Chief of defence forces Affendi Buang told FMT the nation would receive a huge return on such an investment in the form of enhanced security. This would in turn improve the country’s attractiveness to investors, he added.

The 2023 federal budget will be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 7. - FMT