Immediate RM 150 million additional budget for the Police Force

The Police Force will get an immediate budget approval of RM 150 million to buy additional equipment. This was something which the Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also the Minister of Internal Security announced today, in Changloon, North Kedah after the wake of few policemen being killed by perpetrators whilst on duty, this past week.

Bernama.com has the report:

 

October 28, 2007 14:15 PM

 

PM Okays RM150 Mil To Buy Additional Equipment For Police Force   CHANGLUN, Oct 28 (Bernama) — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has approved RM150 million to buy additional equipment for the Royal Malaysia Police. Abdullah, who is also Internal Security Minister, said he approved the allocation recently. “I okayed the RM150 million allocation to purchase additional equipment needed by the police. However, I’m unable to give details of the requests for additional equipment made by the police,” he told reporters after visiting Sime Darby’s corn plantation under the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) which encompasses Perlis, Kedah, Penang and north Perak. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan had made a request to buy 2,000 more bullet-proof vests following the killing of two policemen by suspecred drug dealers during a raid in Sungai Buloh on Thursday night. Musa had said there was an allocation to buy 2,000 vests this year and 1,800 more by early next year. The prime minister said the police logistics department has been asked to study the types of vests needed. It was reported that none of the policemen who mounted the raid on a house at Taman Suria in Desa Aman, Sungai Buloh, wore bullet-proof vests. On another matter, Abdullah ordered the authorities managing agriculture projects to use quality seeds that could produce high yield and value-added agriculture produce. He said agriculture produce considered to be cheap could fetch high prices if they had added value. The prime minister said agriculture projects carried out on commercial scale must produce quality produce to give encouragement to farmers and agriculture entrepreneurs. “In the absence of added value, farmers will be easily put off to continue with agriculture farming because the returns are low,” he said. On Sime Darby’s sweet corn project, Abdullah said it had good potential to be marketed commercially. The prime minister also urged food manufacturing factories to diversify their products for higher returns. Earlier, Sime Plantation Sdn Bhd Managing Director Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid said the sweet corn project has started to produce yield, with more than 100,000 pieces of maize harvested. He said 600 farmers were currently undergoing training in agro-farming at the 80-hectare estate. — BERNAMA

Prime Minister Abdullah announced this to the press after visiting a Sime Darby corn plantation in the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) this afternoon.

There has been an outcry by the media and public why the Police Force were not equipped with bullet proof or Kevlar vests, whilst on duty. IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan explained two days ago that due to various limitations, only the special action unit (UTK) are issued the vests when doing special operations. Currently, the Police Force are being supplied with 2,000 vests for its 90,000 odd personnel.

Bullet proof vests are not the only shortages in the Police Force. The Police Force also required more vehicles, better communication tools and of course, better firearms. Some of the firearms still in use are over twenty years old Smith & Wesson .38 revolvers.

Recently, it was reported that the Police x ray machine at Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint has been broken since two years ago and never fixed. There are possibilities that firearms, especially hand guns are smuggled into the country from these borders.

With these new acquisitions, the Police Force are hoped to serve the public better, in crime prevention activities.