Cries of the boys in blue
Alfian ZM Tahir, FMT
The men in blue have been criticised unendingly by various entities almost on a daily basis, and to top it all that they face constant danger with the rise of gun related crimes.
But there is another picture on the other side of their story. Police officers have for long suffered their own internal problems as they face shortage of funds in their respective departments.
This appalling and revealing information was obtained by FMT several days ago during a visit to a number of police stations in the Klang Valley.
Not all police officers were willing to speak out openly about the problems they have to deal with, though some were vocal but declined to be named in sharing the issues.
Those with high ranking positions, however, refused to talk to FMT, as they feared ‘wrath’ and repercussions from their superiors despite an assurance that their identities would be concealed.
Instead, they urged FMT to send out letters to Bukit Aman in order to get official statements from the officer- in-charge.
During the fact finding, FMT managed to approach a lance corporal who was originally from a police station in the Klang Selatan district. He had just completed his daily rounds on his own motorcycle.
He said that due to the shortage of patrol cars and the long process of reporting a damaged car, he preferred to ride his own bike although he has to bear the cost of petrol.
“Our patrol car at this station is broken and needs repair but the process is taking too much time, I use my own bike although I need to pay for the fuel,” said the lance corporal, currently is stationed at a balai under Klang Utara district police station.
Upon making a brief visit to the station’s workshop, it was observed that there were several patrol cars that have yet to be worked on as parts have not been replaced.
However, effort to get the mechanic to speak was futile as he refused to share insights in regards to the issue.
Logistical issues
Meanwhile an investigation police officer from Penang, who served in the Special Branch for more than eight years, explained that the distribution of funds from the government was not trickling down as planned.
He has yet to receive proper and adequate office equipments such as laptops and printers. There were several other officers who shared the same opinion as him.
“Apart from investigative jobs, I have to produce reports of all the cases I am investigating, but equipments are not up to standard. I’ve been using my own money to buy the A4 paper.
“Sometimes it is a hassle for us, but our main priority is to do our job,” the officer said.
Another senior police officer,clarified that the problem was not as bad as seen. “The process of compiling various reports on breakdowns or faults from all over the state can result in delays,” he said.
When asked to elaborate, the officer with the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) asked FMT to speak to the head of logistics as he did not have the authorisation to touch on the matter.
“It is not a short process, there are many police stations and the report does not come from one station, thus the time for it to be completed may be long,” added the ACP.
