Gangsters

Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing raised the issue in Parliament, gangsters in Sibu, Sarawak were having a field day because of poor policing in the state, he said. It was rebutted by by Federal CID chief Datuk Christopher Wan Soo Kee, who claimed that the situation was normal.

Tiong then told Wan to go “undercover” to Sibu to see for himself how the residents there felt unsafe and were victims of extortion.He had also alleged that the secret societies were controlling everything,even the price of essential food items.

There were also talks that top politicians and businessmen are said to have links with the gangsters.This prompted the IGP, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, to personally drop in to Sarawak to see for himself what is actually happening on the ground. As a result a special task force has been set up directly under him to monitor the situation. There was also a response from someone in the police force that they cannot act without a police report, and the fact that the IGP personally dropped in to see for himself negated this rather archaic way of thinking .The IGP has demonstrated that he does not tolerate non-action on the part of his force.

The police should not be too bureaucratic in their approach, members of the public need to feel their complaints are acted on as fast as possible.It is like going to see a doctor, nobody wants to unless they have to;the expectations for a cure are high. When you walk in a police station to make your report, you feel your case is top priority. But, sometimes, when you have to deal with less than professional personnel, you feel let down by the system. This is the institution that looks after the security of the nation,it has to be tip top all the time. There shall be no tolerance for sloppy job here.

Inevitably, you do get the feeling that some of the personnel are not up to scratch in their work or they are not willing to run the extra mile for reasons only known to themselves.Were they adequately trained? A friend once said to me that our policemen are merely clerks in uniforms.They are not like their counterparts in the more advanced countries, where the body language alone is enough to tell you who is in charge.

It is our culture to be gentle and friendly, but, with the Prime Minister declaring “war” on the criminals recently, it is high time for our police force to be seen as tough and they must act tough within the ambit of the law, of course. They must put the fear of God in these lawbreakers. I can guarantee you that members of the public will be cheering the police on.

Rest assured that we understand the limitations of the force but, professionalism cannot be compromised. News that there will be a salary revision soon bodes well for the personnel who are seen to be doing a thankless job . As the frontliners, they should be paid well, not only this will attract the best of the best, but ,there will be much pride in being a member of the force. After 200 years of sterling history, the only way for the force to go is to be better and better.