Police investigate PPPM for using cars, uniforms similar to police force

PETALING JAYA: When police stopped a Proton Wira which resembled a police patrol car in Section 17, here, on Monday, they were stumped when the driver told them he was conducting crime-prevention patrol.
"He told us that he is from the PPPM Brigade and was on his rounds to prevent crime," said Petaling Jaya police chief ACP Azmi Abu Kassim who today disclosed how police had stumbled on yet another vigilante organisation.
Apparently, over the past weeks, a Proton Wira which bore the blue-yellow checkered bands on its sides and a logo that was close to that of the police, had been spotted going about in townships like Damansara, causing residents and motorists to be puzzled as to which enforcement agency it belonged to.
The vehicle also had rotating beacon lights on its roof, except its lights were red and blue, unlike the all-blue lights of police vehicles.
The mystery was solved when a police patrol stopped the Proton Wira about 4.30pm on Monday and escorted the driver and the vehicle to the Damansara police station.
The driver told police he was a patrol brigade member of a non-governmental organisation called Persatuan Pelindungan Pengguna Malaysia (PPPM).
"Our checks show that PPPM is registered with the Registrar of Societies but going around in a vehicle that looks like a police car is an offence," said Azmi, adding that police have also come to be aware that the group has a uniformed unit, that has attire and a ranking system similar to the police.
"We have contacted the president of PPPM and are seeking an explanation from him. In the meantime, we will investigate the case under the Societies Act and Police Act," he told theSun.
Although the use of such a vehicle may confuse the public and is an offence, Azmi said the driver of the car was allowed to leave after questioning.
Following Monday's case, several photos made available to theSun showed an identification tag of a PPPM member with the rank of constable from the PPPM Petaling Jaya branch and a group photo of 12 members in uniforms which look similar to that of the police.
Another photo showed the name card carrying the name of apparently a PPPM member who claimed to to be a chief inspector of the NGO's Kuala Lumpur branch.
The member, who also claimed to be a committee member of the National Chinese Affairs Bureau, stated below his name the words
"Ahli Kerabat Diraja" (member of royalty). It also carried the Malaysian coat of arms.
theSun called a mobile number shown on the card to seek further information about the group, but a nervous-sounding man who took the call denied he was the one named in the card, before hanging up.
Online checks on the PPPM found few results except for a posting in Wikipedia which revealed that the group was officially registered with the Registrar of Societies in 2005 after receiving support documents two years earlier from former prime minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Badawi Abdullah.
There has been controversies in the past month over vigilante groups which have taken it on themselves to carry out crime-prevention task without the approval of relevant authorities.
Over the past two months, the Penang Voluntary Patrol Squad (PSS) was in the news after police arrested about 150 of members of the organisation, which was subsequently declared illegal.