Police must be given the right budget to operate efficiently

AS a government retiree, I am indeed thankful to be among those who would receive the one-off payment of RM750 under Budget 2018. It’s a small amount considering the current high cost of living but it will certainly come in handy.

As a retiree from the Royal Malaysia Police, I am pleased to note that under Budget 2018, the Government has allotted RM9bil, an increase of RM0.3bil from the allocation in Budget 2017, for major programmes and projects to enhance the effectiveness of crime prevention nationwide.

This will encompass the work rate as well as the welfare of the men and women in blue.

Serving the rakyat efficiently and effectively is of the utmost importance to ensure that the police force remains relevant. This will be a reality only if all the logistical support is met. Providing proper housing and ideal offices will definitely enhance and optimise the end result.

I have visited a number of police stations in the country lately and found the condition of some to be in a dire state.

Among the problems faced are difficulty for investigation officers to get stationery supplies to do their work, and unavailability of spare parts for a lot of police vehicles. This, I was made to understand, was due to the lack of finance from the logistics department to purchase the required materials.

There are more problems which are derailing the performance of the police force. Therefore, whatever amount of money is allocated to the police under Budget 2018, all must reach the recipient! We need a strong police force to ensure continued peace in our beloved country.