Zahid: Rela man behind sale of honorary ranks identified

PUTRAJAYA: The Home Ministry has identified a People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) officer who “sells” honorary ranks to the public.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the honorary ranks were sold between RM10,000 and RM30,000 each.

“The man is from a southern state. It is believed that he has been selling honorary ranks in Sabah.

“There have been 20 such cases. One of the buyers made a report at the Rela headquarters. We have the receipts as evidence.

“It is an offence to sell honorary ranks as they can only be conferred on an individual based on his qualifications and upon approval from the Rela committee,” Zahid said at the ministry’s monthly assembly yesterday.

He said the ministry was waiting for the complainant to lodge a police report so action could be taken against the culprit.

He urged the public to lodge reports if they were offered Rela honorary ranks.

At the event, Zahid launched the Immigration Department’s new authority card and pocket badge.

The authority card, known as the Identification Management System, comes with improved security features to combat impersonation of Immigration officers and duplication of authority cards.

It is an offence to sell honorary ranks as it can only be conferred on an individual based on his qualifications...