Diploma holders can apply under proposed police scheme

The Star

By DEVID RAJAH

PUTRAJAYA: Aspiring policemen will be allowed to apply for the post of Sergeant (Sjn) while recruitment for cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) posts would be stopped under a proposed scheme.

It is understood that diploma holders will be allowed to join as sergeants.

“The newly trained Sergeants will work as assistant investigating officers,” Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Najib Abdul Aziz said yesterday.

Currently, new recruits serve as police constables before they are promoted to Lance Corporal, Corporal and Sjn.

“The reason we want to recruit sergeants directly is because we need energetic rank-and-file officers to assist investigators (Inspectors),” he said, adding that the present batch of sergeants was mainly over 45 years of age.

He said by the time a constable reached the rank of Sjn, he or she would be a bit slow physically.

“We will still hire constables but the recruitment of cadet ASPs will be stopped.

“This is to ensure that police personnel work their way up after gaining enough skills and experience in law enforcement and investigative methods,” he told reporters after receiving 25,000 MyKad readers from the National Registration Department (NRD) here yesterday.

Also present was NRD director-general Datuk Mohd Abdul Halim Muhammad.

It is also understood that the proposed new police recruitment scheme would be submitted to the Government for consideration.

Najib added that the police force needed 60,000 additional personnel to beef up its crime-fighting efforts.

He also hoped that upgrading police training colleges would enable them to double the intake of recruits from the present 3,000.

“We will start training additional personnel from next year when our colleges have been upgraded,” he said.