Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria has already given a statement to police on his remark that it is permissible to spill the blood of those who protested in the New Year's Eve anti-price hike rally.

"We have already called him. Any statement deemed to threaten (national safety) will be investigated.

"It is not true that only certain people can threaten security. We probe all. But you are only interested in certain people," inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters this afternoon.

Khalid, who spoke during a special press conference to outline the Royal Malaysian Police's plans for 2014, however, declined to say when the mufti was called and provide further details of the investigation.

Harussani ( right ) had labelled the anti-price hike rally Turun participants "bughah"- an Islamic term to mean armed protestors against a just government, whose bloodshed is permissible according to the religion.

DAP's Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua had questioned why the mufti has not been investigated for inciting bloodshed but editor of Catholic weekly the Herald is probed for sedition for using the term 'Allah'.

A department to keep cops honest

Among the force's plans for 2014 is to upgrade its internal disciplinary department to a Department of Integrity and Standard Compliance, or Jips, according to its Malay-language acronym.

He said that Jips is different from the existing disciplinary department as it not only investigates transgressions, but also develops ways to prevent such transgressions from happening.

He said that this is a response to police officers investigated for graft and abuse of power as well as findings by the Auditor-General that police had lost a sizeable amount of equipment, including 37 pistols.

However, Jips falls short of being the much-demanded Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), as it will be headed by a police commissioner.

"We have many external bodies supervising us, like the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission, but we feel we should also have an internal supervising body," he said.

He said the mechanics of Jips has been forwarded to the Public Services Commission and is awaiting clearance.

As it stands, he said, all police personnel have to declare their assets as well as that of their spouse and children to the force every five years.

"In 2013, out of 120,000 personnel in the force, 1,391 have faced disciplinary action. This amounts to 1.23 percent. I believe this is a serious figure and this is why we have Jips to control the abuse of power among police," he said.

He added that disciplinary action against the police include pay cuts, withholding pay, demotion, fines and sacking, as well as being charged in court if the Attorney General's Chambers and anti-graft body feel there is sufficient evidence.

Challenging 2013

Khalid said that 2013 was a "challenging" year for the police force due to the spate of "illegal protests on price hikes", as well as the Lahad Datu insurgency, which cost the force eight personnel.

However, there were many successes like the Ops Cantas Khas which saw 1.3 million people and more than 800,000 searched and 44,347 arrests.

There were 14,228 drug busts and 14,896 arrests with the value of seizures amounting to RM30.82 million.

"Compared to 137 days before and after Ops Cantas Khas, violent crime went down by 10.93 percent while property crime went down 6.16 percent," he said.

"We have managed to apprehend many members and heads of organised crime...while assets have been frozen using the Anti-Money Laundering Act," he said, adding that this has contributed to reducing gangland shootings and fear of crime.