JULY 15 — I don’t make snap judgments on any party without first trying to get whatever information I can through whatever sources I can find. Such sources include most notoriously the World Wide Web.
Recently I was asked to look up statistics for blackmail cases in Malaysia that were reported to the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP). One would think that these statistics, at least the number of reported cases, would be available for public viewing.
They’re not. Neither are statistics on rape, murder, snatch theft, Rempits, or even robbery.
Well, maybe to the RMP such information is not worth sharing with the public.
Instead, our admirable police force finds it a necessity to only disseminate the data on traffic issues via continuous reports on Ops Sikap (congratulations to the traffic division then), narcotics and commercial crimes.
And, of course, missing person’s statistics that have yet to be updated since August 2008.
You would think that a police force with a vision promoted on its website to be “the main enforcement agency with integrity, competence and commitment”, it could actually prove it with solid evidence in the form of statistics.
So, in an effort to highlight just how inept our police are in this day and age, in a nation priding itself as the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), let’s compare our royal police force’s website with a number of its peers, or even subordinates for that matter.
In the Asean region, I managed to find a few websites to compare with. These include the Singapore Police Force (SPF)and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
It is rather shameful to admit that our neighbours down south can come up with a statistical annual report and analysis made public via its website since 2005.
It is even sadder to note that the Philippine police force actually uploads PDF’s of its newsletter (Police Digest) and journals, albeit irregularly and out of date. Their last newsletter upload is dated December 2008.
However, the PNP website does have a link which plots out the national crime map, which details the crime statistics by month since October 2007 up to March 2009.
The SPF, while lacking such detail, instead has a presence on social networking website Facebook, a Youtube channel as well as an online show available at its website called “Crimewatch”.
I guess the Malaysian police can always take pride with their “Gerak Khas” episodes available on RTM.
Now perhaps it’s a bit too much to compare the Malaysian police with two Asean countries with probably greater expenditure on their police forces.
So let’s go to a place that recently received a budget cut after its governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, recently announced that the state has no cash to spend. Welcome to California.
The Los Angeles Police Department website has a crime summary report dating back to 1996, its most recent one being a summary report for 2008.
What’s really interesting about the LAPD website is that it also has a blog with a podcast of a recent police station inspection. Its latest post, of course, is its official statement on the death of Michael Jackson.
Oh, and did I mention that its website is available in 10 different languages?
Still sticking to California, I would also like to highlight the existence of the Automated Regional Justice Information System, or ARJIS. ARJIS is an information sharing website that allows its browsers to generate crime statistics reports for the police within the counties of San Diego and Imperial City, California.
Now close to 600 words down the line, I’m just wondering if the head of our RMP, Inspector-General Tan Sri Musa Hassan, is ashamed enough to admit that its website is inadequate and totally lacks whatever standards of achievement our police currently adhere to.
In March 2007, while the police force was celebrating its bicentennial anniversary, the IGP stated that the police must undergo a rebranding exercise in order to regain their credibility in the eyes of the public. The theme then was “Royal Malaysia Police towards Global Distinction”.
In lieu of the comparisons with the police websites from the Philippines, Singapore and even bankrupt Los Angeles, California, I ask the IGP and even anyone reading this:
Is the RMP moving towards “global distinction” in the wrong direction, regressing towards global infamy as perhaps one of the most backwards police forces in terms of information dissemination and transparency?
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2009
This marks a potential shift for Malaysian politics, in which the ruling party works hand in glove with the royals to maintain the status quo.
This marks a potential shift for Malaysian politics, in which the ruling party works hand in glove with the royals to maintain the status quo.
www.stratfor.comThis marks a potential shift for Malaysian politics, in which the ruling party works hand in glove with the royals to maintain the status quo.
Malaysian riot police dispersed 3,000 demonstrators at Iskandariah palace in Kuala Kangsar on Feb. 6 protesting the swearing in of a new chief minister and state executive council. The northwestern state of Perak has become embroiled in a political crisis, highlighting Malaysia’s wider political struggle after Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak, the traditional ruler of the state, ejected Chief Minister Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin and his executive council from their posts and appointed new leaders. The ousted government was part of Malaysia’s opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR), while the new installments are members of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which rules Malaysia’s national-level government.
Perak state, in the northwestern part of peninsular Malaysia, is an old tin-mining hub and modern manufacturing region hit hard by the global economic slowdown. The opposition PR won its first election there in March 2008, part of a general trend in which the party made electoral strides across the nation. The PR’s success has led the BN coalition to worry that their rule is beginning to crumble along with their ability to protect the legally enshrined privileges of the ethnic Malay majority. Opposition PR leader Anwar Ibrahim has had a roller-coaster rise to prominence since the March elections, and two opposition victories in recent by-elections have heightened the BN’s fears. Meanwhile, the global economic slowdown is weighing more heavily on Malaysia’s industries and households.
Four lawmakers in Perak’s state assembly have defected since Jan. 25 from the PR-led coalition, giving the BN and its allies the upper hand by one seat. Nizar moved to dissolve the assembly as a result of the defections, calling for a new election, but he failed to ask the sultan’s approval. The sultan ordered the state assembly leaders to resign Feb. 5, and the next day the former chief minister was physically removed from his office in Ipoh by police. On Feb. 6, riot police dispersed 3,000 supporters of the former government with tear gas when they attempted to bring their protest to the sultan’s Iskandariah Palace in Kuala Kangsar as the new chief minister and executive council were sworn in. The event has sparked a statewide constitutional crisis, but Anwar has ruled out waging a legal battle (despite the wishes of allies in Perak), seeking instead to get the sultan to change his mind so that the state can hold new elections.
State politics in Perak aside, many suspect that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is set to become prime minister in March after current Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi steps down, had a hand in orchestrating the four defections and seeking the sultan’s help. This marks a potential shift for Malaysian politics, in which the ruling party works hand in glove with the royals to maintain the status quo. Both the ruling coalition and the opposition are searching for potential defectors to strengthen their power in Kuala Lumpur (often with bribes for those willing to change sides). Both sides will attempt to benefit from this incident, with the BN claiming that the opposition has undue respect for the sultan and the PR claiming that the state’s democratic representation has been curtailed. With the global economic slowdown taking a greater and greater toll on Malaysia’s economy, political struggles (and social instability) look set to intensify.
Malaysian riot police dispersed 3,000 demonstrators at Iskandariah palace in Kuala Kangsar on Feb. 6 protesting the swearing in of a new chief minister and state executive council. The northwestern state of Perak has become embroiled in a political crisis, highlighting Malaysia’s wider political struggle after Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak, the traditional ruler of the state, ejected Chief Minister Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin and his executive council from their posts and appointed new leaders. The ousted government was part of Malaysia’s opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR), while the new installments are members of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which rules Malaysia’s national-level government.
Perak state, in the northwestern part of peninsular Malaysia, is an old tin-mining hub and modern manufacturing region hit hard by the global economic slowdown. The opposition PR won its first election there in March 2008, part of a general trend in which the party made electoral strides across the nation. The PR’s success has led the BN coalition to worry that their rule is beginning to crumble along with their ability to protect the legally enshrined privileges of the ethnic Malay majority. Opposition PR leader Anwar Ibrahim has had a roller-coaster rise to prominence since the March elections, and two opposition victories in recent by-elections have heightened the BN’s fears. Meanwhile, the global economic slowdown is weighing more heavily on Malaysia’s industries and households.
Four lawmakers in Perak’s state assembly have defected since Jan. 25 from the PR-led coalition, giving the BN and its allies the upper hand by one seat. Nizar moved to dissolve the assembly as a result of the defections, calling for a new election, but he failed to ask the sultan’s approval. The sultan ordered the state assembly leaders to resign Feb. 5, and the next day the former chief minister was physically removed from his office in Ipoh by police. On Feb. 6, riot police dispersed 3,000 supporters of the former government with tear gas when they attempted to bring their protest to the sultan’s Iskandariah Palace in Kuala Kangsar as the new chief minister and executive council were sworn in. The event has sparked a statewide constitutional crisis, but Anwar has ruled out waging a legal battle (despite the wishes of allies in Perak), seeking instead to get the sultan to change his mind so that the state can hold new elections.
State politics in Perak aside, many suspect that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is set to become prime minister in March after current Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi steps down, had a hand in orchestrating the four defections and seeking the sultan’s help. This marks a potential shift for Malaysian politics, in which the ruling party works hand in glove with the royals to maintain the status quo. Both the ruling coalition and the opposition are searching for potential defectors to strengthen their power in Kuala Lumpur (often with bribes for those willing to change sides). Both sides will attempt to benefit from this incident, with the BN claiming that the opposition has undue respect for the sultan and the PR claiming that the state’s democratic representation has been curtailed. With the global economic slowdown taking a greater and greater toll on Malaysia’s economy, political struggles (and social instability) look set to intensify.
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