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Abdullah should present White Paper in Parliament on the cases highlighted by the Police Royal Commission Report on the rampant corruption in the police force, such as the RM34 million asset declaration by a senior officer and  bribery of  police officers by  other officers to get “gold mine” postings

 

Media Conference Statement(2)
by Lim Kit Siang

(Parliament, Tuesday): The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should present a White Paper in Parliament on the cases highlighted by the Police Royal Commission Report on the rampant corruption in the police force, such as the RM34 million asset declaration by a senior officer and bribery of police officers by other officers to get  “gold mine” postings.

It is a sad reflection that despite the anti-corruption pledges and rhetorics by the Prime Minister  in the past 18 months, the country and the world have  concluded that there is no  fundamental improvement on the corruption front – and such a perception has been more than confirmed  by the Police Royal Commission Report.  In fact, the Commission seems to have understated the severity of the international perception on corruption in Malaysia, referring to the 37th ranking  out of 133 countries in the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index 2003, (p. 116),  when it should have mentioned the worse ranking of No. 39 in the TI Corruption Perception Index 2004.

However, the Commission report hit the nail on the head when it said  “Corruption in PDRM is part of a larger problem of corruption in Malaysia that is recognisaed by both people and government alike”. It said: “Corruption is a social disease that cannot be effectively eradicated without addressing the root causes.  Corruption in PDRM also cannot be eliminated in isolation from the social and political environment”.

Among the major factors identified as the root causes of such rampant police corruption are “the absence of an environment that puts a premium on professional excellence”  and “Inadequate and ineffective legal and institutional constraints against corruption in the country, which in turn stimulates further corruption”.

The most glaring cases of corruption in the police force in the Commission Report include:

  • A senior officer who made an asset declaration amounting to RM34 million but no action was taken against him.
     
  • The 2002 Anti-Corruption Agency investigation into the financial affairs of a senior ranking police officer in Selangor for collecting “protection money” amounting to RM200,000 per month from owners of various illegal premises such as vice dens and also from operators of slot machines and illegal gambling. He owns several houses, shop lots, luxury vehicles and shares, with accumulated wealth estimated to be about RM7.4 million. The ACA is still investigating the case.
     
  • “It is not uncommon for police officers to bribe other officers to gain an advantage such as being transferred to ‘gold mine’ postings.  Among the Departments and Divisions considered as ‘gold mine’ are Commercial Crime Department, Traffic Branch, Criminal Investigation Department (D7 covering secret societies, anti-vice and gambling), Narcotics Department, Logistics Department (Procurement and Development) and Deployment and Promotions Division.”
     
  • “The division responsible for procurement of goods and services is particularly prone to corruption…..It is a source of enormous waste of government expenditures, estimated to amount up to 30-40 percent more than the actual procurement costs.”
     
  • Police officers bribed by informants to detain and investigate innocent “suspects”;

The Commission received numerous complaints about many police officers living beyond their means, who reportedly enjoy luxurious lifestyles that far exceed their income, own choice real estate, luxury cars and petrol stations, live in palatial houses and hold wedding receptions in five-star hotels.

Is Abdullah prepared to crack down on police officers, as well as political leaders, who lived beyond their means and amassed wealth disproportionate to their known legitimate sources of income, and walk the talk in the campaign against corruption?

 

(17/05/2005)                                                                 

*  Lim Kit Siang, Parliamentary Opposition Leader, MP for Ipoh Timur & DAP Central Policy and Strategic Planning Commission Chairman