PM Calls for Expulsion of Cops Who Smear Name of Force
Bernama – 16/4/2006
KUALA LUMPUR - Police personnel who smear the name of the force by committing blunders and causing problems have to be expelled to maintain its good name, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Sunday.

"It is the responsibility of the Royal Malaysia Police leadership to ensure that such police personnel do not remain in the law enforcement organisation," he said.

The government would not come to a compromise with any police personnel who committed blunders and smeared the good name of the force and stern action, including expulsion, would be undertaken to improve the image of the force and maintain the respect of the people, he told reporters after launching the national-level "Rakan Cop", here.

Rakan Cop is a short messaging system (SMS) service that enables the people to report crime for immediate police action.

Abdullah, who is also Internal Security Minister, said the Royal Malaysia Police had its own mechanism and disciplinary regulations to penalise erring personnel, and that there had been cases of personnel expelled from the force.

Abdullah said he hoped that police action to cleanse the force of unwanted elements that could smear the name of the force would be successful.

He said the image of the police force was blemished by a minority in the force that resorted to unlawful action that incorporated undesirable elements.

"Such action by them had tarnished the name of the force and caused hardship for the people," he said.

As such, in his speech earlier, the Prime Minister had asked the people not to "bash" the whole police force for the blunders and problems caused by a handful of police personnel.

The people should instead instil confidence in the role played by the force in fighting crime and maintaining public order in the country, he said.

"These (errant police personnel) are small groups that create much problem for the people and the Royal Malaysia Police. But we should not bash the police force for the blunders of these small groups. That is not fair," he said.

He said that realising the unhealthy actions of these small groups of police personnel, the senior management of the Royal Malaysia Police was striving hard to cleanse the force of such problem-causing groups.

On Rakan Cop, Abdullah said he believed the programme would be well received by the people because the most effective way to reduce crime was for the people and the police to work together to fight the menace.

"If the people cooperate with the police, there will no place in society for criminals ... criminals bring much hardship to the people," he said.

Abdullah said the Rakan Cop programme should not be confined only to men but also include women who knew self-defence techniques.

In this connection, he said, he had asked Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said to spend some time once a week to hold self-defence classes for women to enable them to participate in the Rakan Cop programme.

"I have informed Azalina about this and she has agreed to be the coach to give tips and basic instruction on self-defence," he said.

Abdullah said that with knowledge of self-defence techniques, women participating in the Rakan Cop programme would be able to undertake their duties and responsibilities with peace of mind and overcome unwanted hindrances.

The Prime Minister said he hoped that the people would utilise the Rakan Cop SMS service fittingly to report crime and not send mischievous messages.

Sending such messages was not only a despicable act but they would jam the lines and prevent the police from acting on genuine cases of crime immediately, he said.

Also present at the launch was Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Mohd Bakri Omar, Deputy IGP Datuk Seri Musa Hassan and state police chiefs.
Source: Bernama | www.bernama.com