Malaysiakini : Last year, the police force got a black eye when they falsely claimed
they shot three men in self-defence at a restaurant in Rawang,
Selangor.But coroner Rasyihah Ghazali ruled there was a criminal element in the case and that there was an abuse of power by the authorities in the fatal shooting of G Thavaselvan, 31, S Mahendran, 23, and Sri Lankan national J Vijayaratnam, 40.
In short, it was an unlawful killing.
Before
that, there were the disappearances of Amri Che Mat and pastor Raymond
Koh, which have been declared by the human rights commission Suhakam to
be cases of enforced disappearance carried out by the state, specifically the Special Branch.
Last week, the government, apparently in a feeble attempt to cover up the high-handedness of the police, appealed against the decision of the High Court to release a classified report on the disappearance of Amri, who has been missing since 2016.
In 2018, the Malaysian police and in particular, the then Bukit Aman CID chief Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd, forfeited A$320,000 (RM985,000) because he did not defend or explain the source of that money.
The
Australian Police Force (AFP) said the seizure was based on the
suspicion that the country’s anti-money laundering law had been
violated. All Wan Ahmad had to do was to turn up in Australia and
explain the source of his funds.
Instead, he was happy to stay put
and allowed the money to be forfeited. He was exonerated by Bukit Aman,
claiming the money was the proceeds of a sale of a property in Shah
Alam and was used to fund the officer’s children who were studying in
Australia.
But then, why deposit small amounts into his account from various parts of Australia?
Two weeks ago, a district police chief in Pahang was detained by the MACC for allegedly receiving bribes of up to RM1 million.
Gross misconduct, illegal behaviour
I
must admit that during my time as a reporter on the crime beat, the
conduct and behaviour of most police officers were impeccable and
unimpeachable.
However, in recent years, there has been a series of high-profile
cases of gross misconduct and illegal behaviour by police officers which
has led to a loss of public trust and confidence in the police.
In
what was seen as an immediate retort to the arrest, Inspector-General
of Police (IGP) Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said all district police chiefs
must strive to improve the quality of service by giving priority to making things easier and reducing bureaucracy.
He
advised them to avoid negative behaviour and instil good values and
give priority to the needs of clients, whether they are members of the
public or fellow police personnel.
“The most difficult challenge
at the moment is to restore the public’s confidence in the Royal
Malaysia Police, which is increasingly plagued by various forms of an
unpleasant image crisis,” Bernama quoted him saying during Bukit Aman’s monthly assembly.
It is good that the IGP has finally acknowledged the problems faced by the force.
The
situation can only make for a disillusioned and demotivated body of men
and women, the bulk of whom go out of their way every single day to
serve the community the best they can against the odds.
Imagine what they must go through when the force that they are so loyal to faces criticism and discredited by so many.
You can only feel sorry for ordinary mata-mata who patrol your streets or accepts your reports at the balai.
Prosecute irrespective of rank
There have been minor faults with the rank-and-file but when some reach higher levels, the problems and rot set in.
Let
me explain: Four years ago, I reported the case of two Nepali guards
who had to spend Deepavali in the police lock-up through no fault of
theirs.
They were arrested by a junior officer at the behest of a
Bukit Aman-based senior officer and his wife, who is also a senior
officer.
I wrote: “Eight nights in the lock-up for an offence they had nothing to do with is unjustifiable.”
“They were neither involved in the burglary nor committed any immigration offence. The police will have a lot of explaining to do.”
In
an immediate response, then-IGP Abdul Hamid Bador ordered Bukit Aman’s
Integrity and Standards Compliance Department (Jips) to probe the claim.
We were later told that “appropriate action” had been taken. Was it just a slap on the wrist?
Shouldn’t those responsible be charged with a criminal offence? This is the way how the force operates.
If
the police force needs to re-image itself, the first step will be to
prosecute errant officers irrespective of their ranks. Put the fright
into them and the ripple effect will be huge. Everything else will
slowly fall into place.