KUCHING: When retiring Bukit Aman Management Department director, Datuk Seri Asri Yusoff announced that there was a shortage of manpower in 65% of police stations in the country, especially in Sabah and Sarawak where only five personnel handled a police station, a retired senior police officer from Sarawak immediately put to rest the perception that Sarawak is in danger of security breech due to such shortage. The retiring officer who had headed several sections in the force said members of the public could view the news with such perception.
Yusoff had said that out of 791 police stations in the country, there is a shortage of manpower in 500 of them. The retired senior police officer pointed out that what Yusoff meant on the shortage was from ordinary police stations where the standard number of manpower should be 35 but in smaller stations (balai) and booth (pondok) it could easily be manned by just three or five personnel.
He cited Bario or the central region as examples where the population is small and crime cases recorded were below 10 or 20 per year and mostly petty ones. A police chief in a rural area said his area is near the border and it is true there is a shortage of personnel especially for patrolling and manning the border. Sarawak CID chief SAC Denis Leong said he is short of around 136 personnel. “It may seem like a big number but the figure covers the whole state so we try to adjust here and there on the shortage,” he pointed out.
Leong known to drive his men hard said he also put in extra hours so there is no room for complaints. Padawan Municipal Council chairman Lo Khere Chiang said the shortage of police personnel can be felt in Padawan resulting in many crime cases like snatching, house break-ins, thefts and even robberies. He hoped that the Federal government would beef up police manpower in Sarawak and not to be biased in the distribution.
“With fewer policemen going around criminals would become more daring. The drug menace among youths should also be checked, too,” Lo said, adding that there should be no letup when it comes to security and that police personnel should be seen patrolling residential areas.
