TWENTY-ONE policemen arrested under a security law used for threats to the nation. Another 11 held for suspected graft. All this in one week.

Just what is going on with the Royal Malaysia Police? And the obvious question is, how far, wide and deep is the rot in the police force?

The police appear to be in the dark about protection rackets and the scale of graft in the force, which happened in just one state. What about other states? Is it just as covert and so secret that top cops are oblivious to what their subordinates are doing?

After all, how can a corporal have RM800,000 in his house? If that is the amount found in a corporal’s house, imagine the amount secreted elsewhere, possibly by his higher-ups or those with the same rank.

And what made the police use the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 against their own kind? It would take a special kind of someone to be held under that law, and policemen are not one of them.

Can the current high-profile action by the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) stem this rot or people will just have to resign themselves to the fact this makes news once in a while.

Open secret

In Jasin, Malacca, residents say it was an open secret that someone must have been on the take as it had more than its fair share of gambling dens and illegal massage parlours in the district of not more than 100,000 residents.

“I’ve been living here for more than 10 years. The folks know. How can gambling dens operate right under the police? If I can see it, surely they can, too,” a night market trader said when met in Jasin.

A policeman told The Malaysian Insight on condition of anonymity that protection racket services rendered to illegal gaming centres and massage parlours had been there for a while.

“It is an open secret. Everyone knows. But who wants to speak up?” said the young policeman.

But he questioned the current MACC crackdown, saying the protection services had been going on for some time. “Why now?” he asked.

The MACC acted in Malacca last week, detaining two district police chiefs, an inspector and two civilians. Before the week had ended MACC had remanded nine police personnel and three civilians to assist the probe into the protection racket.

No unusual displays of wealth

The Malaysian Insight learnt that both the detained district police chiefs lived in government bungalows in Kerubung and Jasin with their families. 

Described as quiet yet friendly, both were frugal and lived within their means. They were also well respected by their men.

And unlike high-profile cases involving top civil servants in Sabah and Kedah, there were no millions in cash stashed at home. There were no luxury European cars parked in the driveway nor jewellery, expensive watches or handbags found.

So it came as a rude shock when they arrested last week. The first to get picked up was the 54-year-old Melaka Tengah police chief who has served for more than 20 years in the force. He was posted to the state three years ago.

Prior to the Malacca posting, he was the head of ballistic unit of Bukit Aman forensics division based in Cheras.

In the arrest, the MACC seized RM79,000 from the Malacca Tengah police chief’s bungalow. The sum was part of RM645,000 seized in cash and from bank accounts of the nine arrested personnel.

The second police district chief detained was the 46-year-old Jasin district police chief, who was transferred from Pahang 10 months ago.

In a follow-up raid, MACC netted three more suspects, one was a corporal and seized RM800,000 kept in the storeroom. The total amount seized now stands at RM1.44 million.

Internal inquiry 

Malacca police chief Abdul Jalil Hassan told The Malaysian Insight that seven of police personnel detained by MACC over the last two days have clean records.

“Their records were good. But who knows, their good behaviour probably only was a front. Nevertheless, let MACC investigate it first,” he said.

He added that police will conduct an internal inquiry into the allegations against his men.

“We will get right to it once they are released from remand,” said Jalil, but denied the protection racket at the two districts was an existing problem.

“No it’s not true. Whatever it is, we will look into it,” he said

Of the 11 remanded now, six are police officers and one a constable while the remainder are civilians who acted as fixers and responsible for collecting protection money from the illegal operators. – May 21, 2017.