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'No holiday, just work': IGP vows to voluntarily step down if mission fails

Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador answers questions during an interview with Malay Mail at his office in Bukit Aman Kuala Lumpur. — Pictures by Hari Anggara
Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador answers questions during an interview with Malay Mail at his office in Bukit Aman Kuala Lumpur. — Pictures by Hari Anggara

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador said the two-year contract given to him by the government is enough for him to complete what he has set out to do, and even vowed that he would step down the moment he feels he is not doing the job right.

In a special interview with Malay Mail recently, Abdul Hamid said there will be no such thing as a holiday for him until his contract ends as he is entirely focused on rebranding the police force’s image.

“I’m not here seeking popularity; I’m just focused on my work. All I can say is that give me a chance to prove myself and I promise if I ever fail, I will step down voluntarily.

“I will know for myself when I can’t go any further... at that point, I will allow someone else to climb the ladder but the two years given to me is more than enough. No holidays for me but just work.

“When people ask me if the two-year contract is enough, I always say it is more than enough and when the time comes I will go. I’m not going to hang around ... when I’m still healthy ... no diabetes, hypertension or whatsoever. I want to go back to farming,” he told Malay Mail at his office in Bukit Aman.

Recalling the moments when he received a call from the Prime Minister’s office, Abdul Hamid said he did not know what to expect on that day when he was told to meet Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“I was surprised. I thought [Dr Mahathir] just wanted to thank me for what I’ve done in the past. But he actually asked me for assistance in whatever capacity I could help him because he left the government 15 years ago and he has lost track on ‘who is who’ in the government and was not sure who he can trust.

“He needed someone to help him identify who were friends or foe. So I accepted his offer and I was given the contract to become the director of the Special Branch before being appointed as IGP,” he said.

Abdul Hamid stressed that money is not the reason why he is back in the force.

He said it was for a mission and after returning to the force he told himself that he will take one step at a time.

“I don’t have big visions. First I needed to engage with my men because 30 months of being absent from the force is quite a long time.

“During the turbulence years, a lot has happened. So I needed to engage and catch up with my men. After engaging with them I know what really needs to be done,” he said.

Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador said the salary of his officers on the ground is one of the main areas of concern that he hopes to be able to solve soon.
Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador said the salary of his officers on the ground is one of the main areas of concern that he hopes to be able to solve soon.

Improving the welfare of policemen

Abdul Hamid said one of the biggest challenges he faced was the fact that the police force is currently facing a major budget constraint that has affected the morale of the men in blue.

He said the salary of his officers on the ground is one of the main areas of concern that he hopes to be able to solve soon.

Abdul Hamid said it has been made clear to him that an increase in their pay is not possible at the moment hence he is fighting for an increase in their allowance instead.

“I have brought the matter up to the prime minister, he has been very responsive and is looking into the matter. I am aware a pay hike is not an option now, because when you talk about increment, other agencies and ministries would also demand for it.

“This will put the government in a difficult position unnecessarily. So, what I’m fighting now is maybe help to increase their allowances instead,” he said.

He said the front runners from the police force serving in the city are among the most affected financially, their pockets hurt more because the cost of living in a city is higher compared to those in the rural areas.

“If the government is unable to provide them houses in the particular district where they are stationed they are left with no choice but to find a place in surrounding districts because the rent is cheaper.

“It makes life difficult for them and that is unfair as the current allowance does not match with the hours they put it. They have to travel a lot and they put their lives at risk riding motorcycles for far distances.

“I’ve got to really be able to convince the government that the lack in budget really hurts the force, especially their morale,” he said.

17,000 officers request for transfer annually

Abdul Hamid said there has been a lot of complaints by officers that the police force is not sensitive towards them when they apply for transfer to another state.

He said some of them had put in their requests for years but has not been approved due to several factors mainly budget constraints.

“There is about 17,000 transfer request annually. We have to decide on the merits of each case to see which transfer should be approved. It also depends on the allocation given by the government, cause certain budget needs to be paid for the cost of transferring from one district to another, worse still to Sabah and Sarawak or vice versa,” he said.

Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador said he recently visited the General Brigade force in Semenyih where he found Armoured Personnel Carriers used to combat communist terrorist back then that is now 41-years-old.
Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador said he recently visited the General Brigade force in Semenyih where he found Armoured Personnel Carriers used to combat communist terrorist back then that is now 41-years-old.

Ageing logistics 

Abdul Hamid said with the lack of budget it’s really a challenge for the front runners when they have to depend on mobile patrol vehicle (MPV) that 15 to 16 years old, and they have no choice but to use it for crime prevention patrol.

“You see the Proton Waja MPVs running on the road chasing after criminal driving branded new high powered cars,” he said.

Abdul Hamid said he recently visited the General Brigade force in Semenyih where he found Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) used to combat communist terrorist back then that is now 41-years-old.

“So when we are facing new adversity now especially when you talk about the Eastern Sabah Security Command and areas around the border, we are in urgent need of new APC, cause my men patrolling the border they have been shot at.

“There were incidents where they used guns to shoot at my men though not rightfully aimed at my men but some sort of warning for my men. They are foot soldiers and they are open to these sort of unnecessary life-threatening risk.

“If we able to provide them with APC, they will be more efficient in performing their task in preventing the smuggling of weapons, drugs and all the illegal activities along the border,” he said.

Abdul Hamid said there are only a few APCs that are still in working condition because the rest were cannibalised.

“The 41-year-old APCs, we are still using it. Only a few are still in running conditions because we cannibalised the others. We used to have more, almost 50,” he said.

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