Women police officers have been told by the police chief to behave properly when working with their male colleagues.

Musa Hassan, the inspector-general of police, also warned women officers against seeking promotions to the point of neglecting their families, the Star daily newspaper reported.

"All married and single policewomen must ensure their behaviour will not destroy their own families and also that of others," Musa told a gathering of policewomen in the capital Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

"Don't ever neglect your family in the quest for promotions," Musa said, according to the newspaper.

He told the women officers that they should lead "disciplined and moderate lifestyles" according to their religious values and warned that any improper behaviour by them could cause the police to loose its credibility.

Sexual harassment

Musa also noted that while there were reports of women officers falling prey to sexual harassment within the police force, there were also cases of men being sexually harassed.

"Even though women are the victims most of the time, there are also cases of men becoming the victim. I'm disappointed when I hear such talk because I have very high expectations of the force," he said.

He called for mutual respect and better professionalism from officers of both genders working together for long hours, and added that cases of sexual harassment should be reported immediately and thoroughly investigated.

The Royal Malaysian Police force is made up of some 89,197 officers, 4,500 of whom are women officers.