As the Royal Malaysia Police Force (PDRM) marked its anniversary this year, there have been accusations of policemen being trigger-happy, a charge dismissed by CID director Mohd Bakri Mohd Zinin.

He said it was not true that policemen shoot to kill, adding that the firearm was only used for self-defence and to protect the public from harm.

The issue of trigger-happy policemen came up following a shootout between the police and the PCO Boy gang in Klang on Nov 8, which resulted in the police shooting to death the leader and four members of the gang said to have been active for about a year in the Klang Valley.

Following the incident, a next-of-kin of one of the gang members is said to have committed suicide because she could not accept his sudden death.

bakri zinin police cid chief Mohd Bakri said the risk is always there of policemen getting injured or killed in shootouts with criminals.

"Have the people thought of the possibility of policemen getting injured or killed if they do not use firearms to protect themselves?" he asked.

Despite the accusation of being trigger-happy, the police scored major successes against criminals this year.

They shot dead five Indonesians, members of the Ipol Gang, wanted for several robberies in Perak and Selangor, in the Kampung Bahagia forest reserve in Bukit Lagong, Sungai Buloh, on May 10.

On Feb 8, they crippled the Aboi Gang, which had been involved in armed robberies and housebreaking in the Klang Valley, by shooting dead eight members of the gang.

The police also smashed the Jack Gang, involved in robbing luxury cars, by shooting to death two members, one of them the leader, on Feb 17 in Petaling Jaya.

They also shot dead the head of the Deva Gang in Penang on Nov 13.

Right to defend themselves

Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner N Siva Subramaniam said that though the police were not encouraged to shoot-to-kill, they had the right to defend themselves.

He said the people should understand that police had to use their weapons when they were in a critical situation so as to protect themselves as well as innocent people.

Executive council member of the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF), Kamal Affendi Hashim, who is also chairperson of the youth outreach committee, described the criticism hurled at the police as harsh.

Such criticism, however, has not deterred the police from continuing to maintain public order and safeguard the harmony enjoyed by the people in the country.

Throughout the year, the police succeeded in clamping down on "Ah Long" (loan shark) activities.

They arrested several people, including 26 believed to have given out loans totalling RM15 million in Penang since July this year.

The loan shark issue posed a challenge which had to be overcome by the police, and even Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein declared an all-out war against "Ah long".

The police embarked on various initiatives to combat crime as well as to restore the people's confidence in the force.

The successes of the force helmed by Musa Hassan resulted in the extension of his contract of service by one more year from Sept 12 this year.

Musa has vowed to step up efforts to combat a new crime - human trafficking.

The efforts of the police in combating crime and maintaining public order have not gone unnoticed, even overseas.

A team from the central brigade of the general operations force has been accorded honours for excellent service after having served as a peace-keeping force for seven months in Timor Leste.

- Bernama