File photo of Royal Malaysian Police officers. AFP File Photo
TAPAH: The 8,000 vacancies in the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) are expected to be filled in the next three to four years.
Bukit Aman management director Datuk Abd Rahim Jaafar said the vacancies resulted from the optional or mandatory retirement of personnel, which averaged 3,000 to 4,000 each year.
“For next year, we project the recruitment of about 6,000 members including 500 officers,” he said.
He said this after officiating the Pingat Jasa Pahlawan Negara (PJPN) award ceremony for police retirees, senior officers and rank-and-file members Series 3/2019 at Dewan Merdeka here yesterday.
At the event, 300 retirees and 150 serving personnel received their medals.
Abd Rahim said PDRM now has about 128,000 officers and men and he hoped the government would consider increasing its staff strength.
“We hope to be exempted from the government policy of recruitment freeze.
“Not only to increase the members of the VAT69 Commando and Special Action Unit (UTK) but also the Integrity and Standards Compliance Department (JIPS) and other branches,” he said.
In September, Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department director Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani called on the government to give special consideration to increasing the number of VAT69 Commando and Special Action Unit (UTK) personnel as they are increasingly needed to deal with threats, especially on the east coast of Sabah. — Bernama