Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has admitted that low wages contribute towards corruption and abuse of power in the police force.

However, he also blamed the desire to lead a “luxurious life” that made police officers become corrupt.

"The low wages are not the sole factor in the involvement of police in activities that violate integrity, such as corruption and abuse of power," Zahid said in a parliamentary reply dated Nov 14, in response to a query from Raime Unggi (Umno-Tenom).

He stressed that only 187 cases of corruption were recorded in 2016, according to MACC statistics, which constitutes just 0.15 percent of the total police force.

"They were driven by the impulse to lead a life of luxury beyond their means, such as buying branded and expensive cars, clothes and furniture, that caused an imbalance between their income and expenditure," Zahid noted.

Raime (photo) asked if the government would review the salary and welfare schemes of the police in order to curb bribery and abuse of power.

He asked the government to create new allowances for police personnel who have too many workloads, work risks and pressure.

Zahid said the government has provided housing facilities and reviewed the existing allowances, and was also coming up with a new allowance that matched their increasing workload.

The government has continuously improved the wage scheme via the SST (Transformative Remuneration System) in 2013, to adjust the salary grades in the police and military force, he said.

"The ministry is aware and concerned about the increasing cost of living that is burdening the civil servants, including the police," Zahid said.

The Royal Malaysian Police has proposed to adjust the 13 allowances, he added.