What happened to police body cam promise, asks Kepong MP

 Lim Lip Eng urges the government to set a firm timeline for the full rollout of police body cameras.

Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng said home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had told him in a parliamentary reply in October 2023 that police were expected to be fully equipped with body cameras by early 2025.

PETALING JAYA:

Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng has questioned the delay in the nationwide rollout of police body cameras, saying the government had targeted full implementation by the first quarter of 2025.

Debating the 2027 budget in the Dewan Rakyat, Lim said home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had told him in a parliamentary reply in October 2023 that police were expected to be fully equipped with body cameras by early 2025.

“We are now in the fourth quarter of 2026. What happened to that promise?” he asked.

Lim also alleged that he had received complaints of some police officers conducting unwarranted searches of mobile phones and extorting money from members of the public, including foreigners who did not carry their passports.

He urged the police to disclose the number of complaints received over such misconduct, as well as the number of officers investigated, prosecuted or dismissed.

He also asked whether there were officers who had refused to wear body cameras or deliberately switched them off while on duty. If so, he said, disciplinary action should be taken against them.

Lim urged the government to set a firm timeline for the full rollout of body cameras and establish clear procedures for storing recordings, controlling access to footage and penalising officers who tampered with evidence.

“Honest police officers should not be afraid of body cameras. The public is asked to respect the police, but the police must also prove that they deserve that respect,” he said.

Last year, more than 7,000 body cameras were deployed across 157 police district headquarters and 640 police stations. - FMT