A few steps on how to improve Royal Malaysian Police

1. BACHELOR OF ARTS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
LE6163 ETHICS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
REPORT TITLE:
Strategic management and improvement of the Malaysian Police from the perspective of
the Royal Commission Report
Prepared by : Pershanth a/l Shanmugamd Dass
Class : BLEI A28
ID: 20201033-01-21871
Prepared For : Nurrabiatul Adawiyah Binti Idris
Submission Date : 07 March 2022

2. Abstract
The Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) is the topic of this paper, which addresses challenges in
improving the RMP as well as its problems from the perspective of strategic management in the
public sector, focusing on three major themes: strategy, implementation, and politics.
Introduction
Strategy
When Malaysia was formed in 1963, the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) was given its current
name. It is a federal agency, and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) is in charge of it. The
force's primary responsibilities include law enforcement, order maintenance, and services. The
public has expressed unhappiness with the RMP's performance over the years. In response, the
government, led by former Prime Minister (PM) Abdullah Badawi, announced the formation of a
Royal Commission to investigate and review the RMP's administration and management. The
Royal Commission issued a report in 2005, entitled Report of the Royal Commission to enhance
the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police (RCR), a report that detailed the
force's shortcomings and made 125 recommendations to the government to reform it. As a result,
the discussion in this article will be heavily influenced by the report, and the analysis will be led
by the framework proposed by Kelman (1987) and Moore (1995), which is focused on three
major themes: strategy, implementation, and politics. An organisational strategy must be formed
in which the public agency must meet three criteria: it must specify a goal, it must capture and
maintain the support of overseers, and it must be feasible. All of these requirements must be met,
or the plan will fail. Indeed, according to Moore, public officials must first set a mission to which
their organisations will be guided. As previously stated, the RMP's fundamental flaw is its lack
of "operational management." Significantly, this has resulted in more serious effects, such as
corruption, power abuse, deaths in police custody, and a high rate of crime. Perhaps more
crucially, the public's confidence has been eroded as a result of this situation.

3. Implementation : What Went Wrong
Human Resource Management
Among the difficulties raised by the RCR in relation to HRM defects in the RMP are deficiencies
in recruiting, which have limited their ability to hire the right people with the proper skills, and
the lack of a competency-based model for HRD, both of which have contributed to the following
problems: The goals, aims, and directions of PDRM are not being completely supported, which
is detrimental to the police's image as well as the community's interests. Because of poor
performance and a lack of knowledge and abilities in specific areas, such as commercial crime,
crimes are more difficult to solve and cases are less successfully cleared. Finding, attracting, and
hiring the appropriate individuals for the right position is more difficult. Many cases appear to
have been dismissed due to a lack of abilities among police prosecuting officers in this regard.
There are other cases that go unsolved or unprosecuted due to a lack of investigative abilities on
the part of the police. The RC further stated that because the individuals in charge were not
adequately trained, there was a delay in taking immediate action in the non-classification
incidents. The RCR also stated that RMP's training system is "unable to generate sufficient
individuals with the required work ethics, competency, and competences, such as communication
and language proficiency". Not unexpectedly, this has resulted in public complaints about poor
quality counter services. There is a fault in the RMP workforce planning as well. RMP's
manpower management has been deemed ineffective, according to the RCR. Without a doubt,
the consequences of this problem are predictable, namely, inability to fill vacancies, flaws in the
distribution and deployment of RMP personnel, issues in managing employee remuneration and
anticipating changes for RMP, challenges in ensuring the provision of sufficient and appropriate
training and development, and challenges in planning for other support facilities that are
required, such as Indeed, this explains why, in some cases, the police did not take any action
after the complainants had filed their reports. The RMP remarked on how tough it was for them
to manage so many responsibilities and duties.

4. Job Design
The RMP has unmistakably specified its rules and procedures to guide the behaviour of its
personnel, such as the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), Inspector General Standing Order
(IGSO), Lockup Rules 1953, Police Act 1963, and so on. Nonetheless, even if everything was in
place, would it help the organisation function? Officers, on the other hand, worked with little
oversight in actuality. They were encouraged to flout the rules in order to get the task done
because of the informal culture. When they were apprehended, their bosses alternated between
protecting them and making them scapegoats. Such circumstances caused a huge amount of
tension and cynicism within the organisation. The findings on the cases of deaths in police
custody in the case of RMP indicated this numerous times. The duties imposed on magistrates
and police officers under the CPC are not always followed. The pathologist's findings on the
cause of death were solely relied upon, and the investigation was halted. The police should not
halt their inquiry only because of the pathologist's explanation. The investigations were not
comprehensive. Witnesses, including as cellmates, duty lockup officers, arresting officers, and
officers who took part in the suspect's examination, were usually not requested to give
statements. But, more importantly, the cops had abused the power that had been given to them.
The abuse of rights safeguards in prescribed laws and regulations, especially laws and
regulations pertaining to women and children found in the CPC, IGSO, and Lockup Rules, was a
case in point. The most remarkable aspect of the data is that there is widespread and persistent
misuse of various kinds.

5. Implementation: Where do we go on from here
The following are the unique administrative innovations that require a closer examination in
order for the RMP to improve.
Human Resource Management(HRM): Develop Capacity
In terms of HRM, the RC's proposals to improve the management and development of RMP
human resources are, to some extent, extremely thorough. Initially, the RMP should place a
greater emphasis on its employee selection process. Many HRM professionals feel that selection
decisions are the most crucial aspect of effective HRM. This is especially important because the
police force is tasked with the responsibility of upholding the rule of law and maintaining public
order. The RMP should also take a holistic approach to its training and development initiatives,
especially when it comes to work ethics. To paraphrase Kelman (1987: 152) on this issue,
training is not just about the nuts and bolts of the work, but also about attitudes and orientations
toward what makes a successful police officer. To a large extent, enticement can play a key
influence in eliciting good performance from members of an organisation. Indeed, many people
saw the recent pay raise for civil officials, including police officers, as "appropriate and
significant" (The Star, 22 May, 2007) for the police force to improve their performance. Aside
from that, the RMP should pay close attention to the working environment and the well-being of
the employees. The RMP should definitely rectify the situation, as indicated by the RC, because
it has a detrimental influence on their morale, self-esteem, and performance.

6. External Accountability : Ensure Compliance
Given the nature of police activity, which appears to be infused with super-enormous power' to
assure the preservation of people's rights, including the security of life and property, there is a
need for much of their work to be governed by suitable rules, regulations, and procedures. As
previously stated, the SOP is significant in that it limits the discretion available to police officers.
The situation in the RMP appears to indicate that non-compliance with the SOP continues at all
levels. More crucially, due to a poorly enforced supervisory system, there is insufficient
oversight of lower officers and workers. Indeed, the RC has proposed one of the most important
key recommendations to ensure that doctrines, laws, rules, and procedures are observed and
implemented, namely, the establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct
Commission (IPCMC) as an external oversight body to ensure that doctrines, laws, rules, and
procedures are followed and implemented. In a political climate marked by a loss of faith in the
political process, a loss of respect for public servants, and an increase in public expectations, the
existence of a national, external, and independent body charged with investigating allegations of
police misconduct must be seen as critical for holding the police accountable and dealing with
police misconduct. Regardless of the reasons that appear to be holding up the formation of the
IPCMC, the author believes that its establishment will undoubtedly restore RMP's image, which
has been tarnished by several claims. More importantly, it will ensure that RMP follows and
effectively executes laws and regulations.

7. Organizational (bureaucratic) Values : Managing Culture
Even though the RMP has stated its own values, this is not reflected in the majority of their acts.
In fact, the RC identified three more essential values for the RMP to consider: integrity, public
accountability, and human rights protection. However, having defined value statements is simply
one aspect of cultivating a positive culture in an organisation. The task is to instil the values in
police officers' behaviour. As previously said, putting a greater focus on training in these values
may be beneficial, but it is still disputed whether it will have any effect on police behaviour.
Again, the IPCMC's role as an external body will play a significant role in eradicating the RMP's
culture of impunity, which has pervaded all levels of the organisation. One of the most important
aspects of reforming the force will be changing the entire police culture.

8. Conclusion
Without a doubt, in the case of the RMP, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) will have to play
a substantial role in mobilising government support in order to improve the current situation of
the RMP. Except for this crucial issue, the IPCMC, the author does not see any difficulties for
the IGP in gaining cooperation from the government to strengthen its operational management.
The previous Prime Minister, in particular, recognises the necessity for the RMP to reclaim its
credibility. The establishment of the RC establishes a serious tone on the part of the government.
In the case of the IPCMC, many people had serious reservations that the IGP had done enough to
hasten its formation. Several quarters have expressed doubts about the IGP's honesty on this
subject. Nonetheless, given the IGP's political limits when it comes to accountability and
openness, this is understandable.
(1615 Words Excluding Cover)