PETALING JAYA: Former top cop Tan Sri Musa Hassan (pix) has questioned a decision by the police to require recruits to undergo and pass religious and moral tests.
He pointed out that candidates currently already have to go through a psychometric and aptitude test, which he said covers moral values.
In addition, he said the police force also have an existing Religion and Counselling Division (Baka), which regularly monitors the moral development of officers and personnel.
“When you conduct a psychometric test, it means the candidate has been tested on his moral and religious values. I don’t see a reason they would want separate religious and moral tests.
“We also have Baka, which monitors and counsels not only Muslim policemen, but non-Muslims as well. The aspect of religious and moral values is already covered,” he told theSun yesterday.
The former inspector-general of police was responding to a statement by Royal Malaysian Police managing director Datuk Abd Rahim Jaafar on Tuesday that future recruits must pass religious and moral tests to ensure they have high values and integrity.
Musa said candidates should also not be judged on the results of a test, as some individuals might not score well on paper but have better moral values than those who ace tests.
A counselling psychologist, Dr Gerard Louis, said it would be unfair to make employment decisions based on the outcome of religious and moral tests, and questioned if the method really measures the actual religious and moral state of a person.
The HELP University Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, Education and Languages dean also questioned how such tests could make a difference in the recruitment process, considering all Malaysians already have to go through 11 years of religious and moral education in school.
“It doesn’t mean if I do well in a test that I am a religious and moral person.
“I may have studied hard just for the test but the main question is, if put in certain situations, will I equally excel in it?
“As a psychologist, I will ask if such tests really measure the actual moral and religious state of a person.”
Louis said police should instead conduct a more in-depth objective and subjective assessment of the candidates.
“There must be a lot of background checks and different kinds of interviews, including with the candidates’ references.
“It may be quite cost and labour-intensive, but it will give you the best select group of people for the police, especially for officer positions,” he said.
The police force is expecting to recruit 6,000 new personnel and 500 officers next year.
