KUANTAN: Bukit Aman Police Management Director Datuk Abd Rahim Jaafar said the police are in the midst of reviewing the salary and benefits for low-ranked police officers to help them cope and manage the pressures of life.
He said it was high time for the review to be carried out, as the last one was done in 2010, and because salaries that don’t commensurate with the job could be among the factors why police personnel were involved in unhealthy practices such as corruption.
“The pressures of life faced out there in relation to the rising cost of living, especially those working in big cities, often cause them to feel stressed while discharging their duties.
“As such, Bukit Aman management has taken the approach of studying a possible increase in the salary and allowances received by 82,000 police officers with the rank of sergeant and below.
“While we understand that the government has financial problems, it is the right of police personnel who are not only stressed in terms of salary but also challenging working hours,” he told a press conference at the Pahang Police Headquarters, here today.
Abd Rahim was there to witness the handover of duties of Pahang police chief from Datuk Seri Mohd Zakaria Ahmad to his deputy Datuk Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri, who was appointed as acting Pahang police chief today.
He said the study was expected to be completed soon.
The meagre salaries have also caused some policemen, especially those in major cities, facing logistical issues because they needed to rent or buy houses far from their workplace, he said.
“Those who are based in Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam or Petaling Jaya in Selangor, for example, rent homes outside the city because they cannot afford to rent in the city because of their low income and housing allowances,” he said.
Abd Rahim said massive improvements should also be made to the police quarters in poor conditions as it also puts pressure on those who live there.
He said the Bukit Aman management was planning to prepare a new working paper on the cost of quarters improvements as the government’s approved RM100 million allocation was not sufficient.
“It is safe to say that almost all police quarters nationwide require extensive repair work and Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador has also visited several quarters to see their rundown conditions himself,” he added. - Bernama
