Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Better Pay For Cops

About time too!

Let's hope a better pay scale for our policemen will be mutually beneficial.


I've always believed that our policemen are severely underpaid.

People always say that if you give better pay to policemen, they will not be corrupt. There is, of course, some truth in that.
But that should not be the be all and end all of the matter.
Policemen should not be corrupt. In the real world, I know that is not possible. But we can push to make sure that corruption in the police force is continually being checked so that we can all live in a world where we know that our security is being looked after.

Looking at the pay scale of our Malaysian police force -- I hate to say this but...no wonder-lah.

However. That said, any form of corruption involving policemen at whatever level, must never be condoned.

It is corruption in the police force that will hinder efforts to reduce crime -- anywhere.
As if this needs to proven.

(Also, the government should look into providing housing and other benefits for policemen and their families.)

19 comments:

hak55 said...

So, will they stop asking for bribes?

Personally, I don't think so because this so-called Royal Malaysian Police Culture is already so deeply ingrained into them, not all policemen and policewomen of course, it takes more than a pay rise to eradicate it.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

hak55,

i have never met a policeman who asked (or hinted) for money as bribe. I have also never offered any bribe to any policeman.

so, i have never met a corrupt policeman. but that does not mean that corruption does not exist. bribery comes in all forms and in different situations.

hak55 said...

I have, many times.

Old Fart said...

Well, they now have this greater task of ensuring UMNO's reign, come what may. Especially come the next elections and for some reason it seems that BN is losing its majority, they will be sorely needed to ensure UMNO continues to rule isn't it? So better to butter them up while they can. And I thought all government departments were told to slice off up to 20% or so of their budgets!!

Anonymous said...

tak perlu jadi polis nak makan rasuah...

Salt N Turmeric said...

Nothing is guaranteed but our policemen/women have been underpaid for waaayyyy too long. It's about time they get what they deserve. Hopefully it would change their image.

At the same time, I hope PDRM would adopt (some of) the system that cops here are using like computers and cameras in all cars. That would def reduce the possibility of bribes.

MAthin2 said...

Some of the already corrupted may not turn over a new leaf with the pay rise but the idea is to attract quality candidates with better qualifications for the force so that our future security can be secured with the next-generation recruits.

The corrupted will have to weigh whether the gains from the pay rise is higher than the risks of being eventually caught by the long(er) arm of the law as sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ke tanah juga.

By the way, isn't it an offence to offer a bribe as is to take it. So do I see a confession here?

ktteokt said...

Do you know that the bribes they receive can be anytime more than what is contained in their pay packet? Better pay for cops WILL NOT discourage acceptance of bribes!

NURAINA A SAMAD said...
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NURAINA A SAMAD said...
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NURAINA A SAMAD said...

hak55,

you have?

then, you must have broken some laws and wanted to get away with breaking them.

actually, you are as guilty as the corrupt cops.

i'll say no more.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

you give bribes to policemen, then you deserve the kind of law enforcement officers we have. so you shouldn't talk about how bad policemen are.

hak55 said...

Dear Madam,

You needed to post the same message thrice and another different one with the same connotation just to make sure. I am intrigued.

You must be a very lucky girl when you said that you only heard about corrupt policemen all these while but have never been asked to pay bribes and you seem to be shocked when I said in reply to your comment, 'I have, many times'.

Are all journalist/reporters/editors same like you? You know that things are happening but 1. you never bothered to verify them; and 2. you don't believe it when you are told about something that you do not want to hear. I am sure the answer is 'no' because I also know some of them myself Therefore, what I said is more about describing you than about other people.

I envy your position but I am not one who can sit in the office 8 - 10 hours a day like you, so I chose a job to provide goods and services by bringing them to my customers/clients and that required me to be out of the office most of the time, nothing special about this for it is just like what many were or are still doing.

Please ask your friends or your friends' friends who have worked in industries such as construction, manufacturing, transportation and logistics and find out if they agree with what I claimed above. I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear what they have to say if they (your friends or your friends' friends) want to be honest with you about it. Ask the accountants, if you now any, how they account for this type of expense, the answer would be very interesting and you know, accountants are creative beings too, if you still have not realise it.

We do not make offers but we always have to give in to their 'demands' otherwise life would be 'hell' for us. (contd).

hak55 said...

Here's a true story that you might not want to believe but I am telling it anyway.

Not too long ago, a group of policemen, led by an officer with the rank of Chief Inspector from an IPPK (Crime Section), were invited to give a talk at a surau about safety and security because there were a spate of petty crimes that occurred in the 'taman perumahan' concerned. There was a Sergeant (Ketua Balai), two corporals and two others and the officer is a graduate in Islamic Studies from IIU. So, the talk went well, plenty of do'as were recited including 'firmans' and 'hadiths sdahih' too and there was a Q & A session, there were exchanges of names and telephone and handphone numbers, etc., etc. and we treated them to a khenduri after a 'do'a selamat' and we all parted ways happy and satisfied and everyone who attended the talk felt relieved and assured that the local police are always around to assist and cooperate with them.

However, just about two weeks after that, a report came to stating that the 'balai' had asked for some money to be paid through a couple of constables and when I asked the person who told me the news why, the answer was, 'they caught some Indonesian PATI working on some houses for renovations in the said 'taman perumahan' and unless the amount was paid, followed by the normal threat commonly used by these uniformed people followed, there will be more trouble. I didn't ask the person what he meant by 'more trouble'. So, the renovation contractors sent the money to the 'balai', I was told and needless to say, the renovation cost went up by that corresponding amount, and like it or not, the clients had to pay. In spite of that, the PATIs were caught and sent to the police lock-ups!

So much about Usuluddin, Firman Allah' and 'Hadith Sahih' and the fact that the talk was held in a 'surau' just after performing the 'Isya' prayer together as a 'jemaaah'.

What about stories that tell us that 'some people can get away with murder'? Haven't you heard about that. You don't see this only on TV and cinemas but it is happening right here in our most beloved country. I have also heard about well connected people 'paying' to get their 'sedaras' released or acquitted after committing crimes that carry with them the 'mandatory death sentence' such as pushing drugs! And I heard that in one case, when an honest state CPO (one of the rare ones) refused to accede to the 'orders', he was sent on transfer to another state immediately. These are stories which I've never bothered to verify because it's not my job to do so but I believe all of them.

Being a writer myself, I am quite good at telling stories, but not lies, I must emphasise it here.

Want to know some more? Please visit my blog at http:www.hak55.blogspot.com/

Sorry, I am rushing after some other more important things and I do not have the time to check the contents above. Pardon my mistakes.

Je vous souhaite tout le meilleur. Chaleureusement.

hak55

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

hak55,

i must apologize for having my response to you appearing 3 times. i must have difficulty publishing my response, and clicked "publish your comment" 3 times. i didn't realize it appeared 3 times.
my apologies.

and i am sorry i misunderstood your response "I have, many times".

so, i don't blame you for making the wrong assumptions about me.

i say the truth when i said that i have not met dirty policemen. though I know for a fact that there are many around. police corruption is not a figment of anyone's imagination.

thank you.

hak55 said...

Madame, Vous êtes les bienvenus. Have a good day!

hak55 said...

We haven't forgotten about the late former IGP who was believed to have amassed a fortune of RM47 million, Jaafar his name was, if I am not mistaken .... have we?

De crédit devrait être donnée quand et où elles sont dues et ce serait les peines pour les crimes. Cordialement.

hak55 said...

Here’s something about corruption.

I also saw somewhere before in a documentary a scene where a local newscaster was interviewing a foreigner (businessman) who have been trading in this region for a very long time on what he thought about corruption in this region and here was his answer:

Indonesia - black (bad)
Singapore - white (no corruption)
Malaysia - grey (somewhere in between)

He said, 'It's easy if it is black or white, but when it is grey, it is very confusing!

In Indonesia, the practice of corruption is very systematic, one knows who to pay to, how to pay them and after that, whatever he wants is or are delivered. No questions asked.

In this country, as I said before, it is very confusing because there's no system. One pays someone as he arrives at the payee's office doorstep and then out come others from all over, from the windows, ceilings, walls and even floors asking for their share otherwise, your file/s will not move.

Upon leaving the door after he thought that the matter was done, he meets with a queue of unknown people who appeared suddenly from nowhere outside and had to pay each and everyone of them.

Never mind if that's the way it is, he thought further, but after some months later and after paying a lot of money, whatever he wants and asked for, thinking that he had done everything that he was required to do, are still not delivered.

In a ‘grey’ country, one tends to pay more compared to a ‘black’ country.

So, you’d eventually ask: “Hey, macammanadey, apalagi yang diaorang mahu?”

Maybe, it’d be better for this country to set up a ‘Department of Accepted Corruption’, with set rules and procedures, and make it systematic as with the practices seen in ‘grey’ countries like those in Indonesia, Africa and India (pardon the pun, not intended) and station it at Putrajaya, next to MACC.

hak55 said...

Sorry Madam,

It should be 'black' and not 'grey'. That's why the 'pun'.

The paragraph below is the corrected version.

Maybe, it’d be better for this country to set up a ‘Department of Accepted Corruption’, with set rules and procedures, and make it as systematic as the practices seen in ‘black’ countries like Indonesia, Africa and India (pardon the pun, not intended) and station it at Putrajaya, next to MACC.