KOTA KINABALU: The three-month basic training is not enough for police recruits to be ready to enforce the law, said Royal Malaysian Police Narcotic division director Zul Hasnan Najib Baharudin.However, Zul said the course, compared to the six-month course previously, would not affect the quality of training.
This is because the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) had compressed the syllabus and practical training required at all police training centres throughout the state, he said.
“Personally, I think the three-month course is too short, but by compressing the training, we still manage to produce quality personnel.
“We had also assessed the training carried out during the night and during public holidays and found that the value was similar to the six-month course previously,” he said at a press conference after the closing of a basic constable course at Sabah Police Headquarters in Kepayan yesterday.
Royal Malaysian Police director of training and management Dato Mortadza Nazarene, state commissioner of police Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim, state deputy commissioner of police Datuk Ab Razak Ab Ghani and police chief assistance commissioner Abdul Manaf Othman were also present then.
A total of 262 trainees completed their course at the Sabah Police Training Centre (Pulapol) that began on February 15, 2010.
The decision to shorten the course was made this year by PDRM in support of the government’s agenda to recruit 60,000 personnel by 2015.
Zul said apart from tightening security at all entry points, the police would also monitor all exit points from the country in an effort to control drug trafficking.
“We will also focus on exit points as we do not want our country to be a transit point for drug trafficking.
“Police had also arrested 57 Iranians for drug trafficking. Eighty per cent of them has been charged under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952,” he said.