KUALA LUMPUR,Mar 25: Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin says the government has approved an allocation of RM30 million to purchase body-worn cameras for police personnel.
Speaking at the Police Day celebrations at the Police Training Centre (Pulapol) in Kuala Lumpur today, Muhyiddin said these body cams would protect the force from false accusations made by criminals or irresponsible individuals.
“With the use of these modern body cams, I believe the morale and confidence of policemen will be elevated when they conduct operations and perform their duties,” he said.
Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador also said the force was in the final stage of discussions to procure tasers for personnel.
He said the government had approved funds for the procurement of assets such as patrol and armoured cars, boats, drones, bullet-proof vests and additional CCTVs.
“In terms of welfare, the government has approved the construction of 2,000 units of houses in the Klang valley (for personnel) and 5,000 more units are at the final stage of discussions, pending approval from federal agencies.
“The government has also approved a large amount of funds to repair old residential units,” he said in his address.
Hamid also said the Covid-19 pandemic helped bring down conventional crime cases, due to the omnipresence of the force with tens of thousands of policemen deployed during the movement control order (MCO).
However, he noted that more unconventional crimes have been more active, including online scams, incest, child pornography and cyberbullying.
He said drug addiction remained a major issue, although the police have been successful in busting various syndicates and labs in the past year, with drugs worth billions confiscated.
“However, the police force’s efforts to combat this threat is faced with the problem of a pressing lack of officers and personnel.”
Hamid told officers and personnel to stay away from corruption and to serve with integrity, urging them against wasting the sacrifices of past members of the force who laid their lives down to ensure the peace of the nation.
In November last year, the Dewan Rakyat was told the home ministry would be procuring 2,000 units of body cams to be used for policemen this year.
Earlier, Bukit Aman said it would also acquire abpout 1,000 non-lethal stun guns for use when facing aggressive individuals.
