Malaysian Cops’ Image Being Tarnished
For the past few days, one of the popular news items to appear in Malaysia’s English and Chinese dailies was the allegedly poor treatment being dished out by some policemen towards Chinese nationals, particularly the women.
It seems that our cops has been getting really bad press recently, and guess what… probably deservingly too. I’m sure many Malaysians have had bad experiences when dealing with the police. Mind you, I’m not necessarily talking about “sinister” things like bribery and corruption… I’ll just let others do that… I’m talking about other suposedly routine stuff dealt by all police forces all over the world. You know, routine things like lodging reports, etc.
The PM recently lambasted government bodies for their inefficient bureaucratic ways despite the millions of ringgits spent on office automation and IT.
I believe that a huge part of the problem is not due to hardware nor software, but peopleware. To be more specific, the human nature of being resistant to changes. I’m sure those in the IT line are very familiar with this issue.
Before this post goes way off-topic, let me bring it back on track. The problem with the Malaysian police force as I see it is lack of investment in peopleware. A large majority of people joining the public sector is for all the wrong reasons; having a “stable” job for life where layoffs are almost unheard off, where appraisals are virtually meaningless, where lots of perks are available (pensions, discounts on housing and transport purchases, tax reliefs, etc.), to name a few.
It is very rare to see someone joining the public sector (especially the uniformed forces) to make a difference… changing the nation positively. Most in the public sector just want an easy life, or feel “in power” doing even the most mundane of tasks. There’s just way to many examples of this happening in the Malaysian public sector.
Permits take ages to get approved or rejected. Nobody bothers about customer service. Lackadaisical approach to getting things done. And these are undisputed facts. Just look at the many issues highlighted in the news with regards to dealing with government bodies. Coupled with the fact that enforcement of rules and regulations are poor, to say the least, in Malaysia.
Now with all the negative press that the Malaysian cops are getting, it’s no coincidence that this issue is getting prime time attention from everyone including the people on the street to the Prime Minister himself.
Things definitely to change… and quick.
