The police have launched a manhunt for the two robbers who fatally shot a policeman and wounded his partner, an incident which prompted the prime minister to call for a strong message to be delivered to criminals.

Federal police CID director Musa Hassan heeded the call and pledged to come down hard on violent crimes.

"We will work hard to eliminate violent crimes," he was quoted as saying in a Bernama report today.

Musa was speaking to reporters at the Hospital Pakar Sultanah Fatima mortuary in Muar, Johor yesterday following the killing of 44-year-old policeman Manja Manaf.

The senior police officer, however, remained tightlipped on the progress of investigations.

"We are still investigating and will give a statement as soon as we get more information," said Musa, who was accompanied by Johor police chief Amir Sulaiman and senior police officers.

Passports recovered

The Malay Mail today reported that police have established the identities of the suspects after discovering their international passports at the scene of the crime.

The police have refused to reveal their identities but the tabloid learnt that the photographs of the suspects have been distributed to all police stations.

The duo had left their passports in a Proton Wira which they used to get to the house of businessman Lim Cheng Hai, whom they robbed in Taman Maharani in Muar Sunday night.

Manaf and his partner, Razali Abu Bakar, were shot when they had rushed to the scene after receiving a complaint and stumbled upon the robbers.

The robbers then fled in the businessman's BMW and took two of his sons hostage.

According to the report, the robbers, who later realised their slip up, contacted the businessman's family and arranged to release one of the hostages to fetch their car.

However, the businessman's son who was released did not return to the robbers while the other son was later found tied to a post in an orchard in Kampung Parit Limbong, Parit Jawa, yesterday.

The BMW was also found abandoned in Parit Nibong about 10km from the house.

Three shots fired

According to Bernama , Manja ( pix ) was shot in the ribs while Razali was shot in the left shoulder at close range.

Doctors removed a 9mm bullet lodged onto Razali's shoulder blade and he is reported to be in stable condition.

Recounting the incident, Lim, 64, said he was awakened by the two robbers as soon as they entered his home at about 10.30pm.

He said one of the robbers had hit his head with the pistol butt before seizing a Rolex watch and RM700 cash.

"The robbers then ransacked all the five rooms but could not find anything valuable," he said, adding that as soon as they heard the bell at the gate ringing, they took a peep outside and saw the policemen and they then took my son as hostage and made their escape.

He said he heard three shots being fired and saw the two policemen fall.

Bullet-proof vests

In a related development, Deputy Minister of Internal Security Noh Omar, who attended Manja's funeral, said the ministry was considering on whether to direct police personnel to wear bullet-proof vests when doing their rounds.

"At the moment, only police personnel carrying out special missions are required to wear bullet-proof vests as we don't have enough allocation to acquire them," he said.

The deputy minister described Manja as a "national hero" who died in the line of duty.

Manja is survived by his wife, Junaidah Parman, 41, and two daughters Azura, 20 and Hariati, 18. His remains were taken to his village in Kampung Kelubi, Jasin for burial.

His brother, Mohktar Manaf, 57, described his late younger brother as a "cheerful and humorous" person who never delayed whatever task assigned to him.