IGP: Low salaries, individual attitudes among factors for graft among police officers and personnel
SHAH ALAM (Feb 4): The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razaruddin Husain does not deny that low salaries and individual attitudes are among contributing factors to police officers and personnel being involved in corruption.
Apart from those factors, several other factors need to be looked at, in order to produce police officers and members who are clean and have integrity.
"I acknowledge that salary is one of the factors. I take this as an indicator: a constable whose salary including an allowance totalling RM2,500 living in Kuala Lumpur is (categorised) as urban poor, but if he lives in Kuala Nerang (Kedah), Besut (Terengganu) and Kinabatangan (Sabah) or Beluran (Sabah), his salary is a lot; that's one of the factors to be looked at.
"Compared to Singapore, where there is no corruption despite lower wages because it (Singapore) is a small country, we (Malaysia) have 137,000 police personnel and the number will increase this year with the entry of another 4,000 (officers and personnel)," he told reporters after the walkabout at the Pandamaran morning market here on Sunday.
Razaruddin also explained that there are still cases of corruption among individuals with a high income.
"If a constable's salary is low and is involved in corruption, then I can give the percentage; we are also familiar with the news when company and agency directors are arrested. Are their salaries low? Therefore, this matter is more about the person's attitude," he stressed.
In the meantime, the IGP said he will not stop any party from lodging a report against him, in case he violates laws or regulations.
"The public has the right in terms of law and constitution to channel information or make a report against any policeman in this country. If I break the law and do not follow the rules, report it because I am also the police.
"We are open and welcome people to provide information and to report (such practises), so that a fair investigation can be carried out. We will charge any officers or members involved (in such practises) in court," he said.
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