Prologue
Berikut adalah bahagian 1 daripada satu nota yang panjang berjeler yang saya tulis semasa bertugas dalam Misi Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu di Angola pada tahun 1998. Ianya merupakan pandangan ikhlas saya mengenai pengurusan (terutama dalam bidang pengurusan sumber manusia) dan hala tuju PDRM ketika itu. Sama ada pandangan saya ketika itu tentang PDRM masih boleh dipertahankan selepas 9 tahun berlalu, saya memilih untuk mendiamkan diri buat masa ini. Anda baca, bandingkan dan jawablah sendiri. Maaf, ianya ditulis dalam bahasa orang kampong saya.
20 Years With The Royal Malaysia Police
20 years is a long time. It is only natural then for one who has been in the thick and thin of it all, in good and in bad times to form and to have an opinion about the organisation that have taken 20 years of his life. Unfortunately in a society that worships conformity and equates having an opinion as “kurang ajar” (ill breeding), you stand being in danger of being ostracised for making your opinion known. The only acceptable exception is if your opinion serves to support the majority’s view. Going against the grain of current thinking can earn you a lot epithets, none of it complimentary or worst, your opinions will be taken on a personal level. And if the person you are giving your opinion to, is in a position of power, you can say goodbye to a rising career. Should the government of Malaysia be your target audience, you could end up being a guest of the government’s hospitality for at least 2 years through the courtesy of the Internal Security Act or whatever Act they can think off to ensure compliance with the expected official norms of behaviour and speech.
The Point Of It All
Although I try not to step on others toe, I do not make it a point to go out of my way to please others. You may or may not agree with my views of the world but at least let us agree to differ. I am not writing down my observations of the Royal Malaysia Police with the hope of getting it known to the power wielders in Bukit Aman. Neither will I water down these opinions just because there is a slim chance that it will be read by those who can make my life miserable in the force. I just want this notes to be a record of my feelings about the force after being with it for 1/5 of a century. There will come a time, when I am old and retired, I’ll take out this jottings and read it all over again. Maybe then I’ll apologised to the Force for being presumptuous in my views. A Detached Observer By writing down my views while in Angola, it is my wish that I can be a detached observer. They say that being away from it all gives one the ability to see the trees from the forest. Something like watching football from the sidelines. It is easy for you to detect any bad or good moves by any of the 22 players. It’s a different ball game all together in the field where your involvement makes it almost impossible for you to analyse every single move that can be made. Now that I am in Angola and away from it all, I sincerely hope I can be a detached observer. It is always easy to be a back seat driver. If there is a fairy godmother, I’ll wish for the opportunity to back up my observations with a thorough study of the police force. Even though I am sure that most of the “facts” as I see it can stand to scrutiny or vouched for by most members of the force, those who believes in the force will definitely assumed that these observations comes from an emotional, disgruntled, frustrated loser who never made it “big” in the police force. They have their opinion, I have mind. Although I would love to declare that mine is an objective appraisal of the organisation that I am working for, subjectivity may and can crept in. I am not going to apologise for that lapse. I am after all human. The worth of a man is in his actions, the stock value of a company in its profile. From it's current management practice and policies, so can you judge the professionalism and direction the Royal Malaysia Police is heading into, in the next millenium. I’ll begin my assumptions of the direction the Royal Malaysia Police is going by extracting a few excerpts from the United Nations Secretary General, Mr.Kofi A.Annan, bulletin dated 31 March 1998.
Does the Royal Malaysia Police provides such an environment? A big no.
Does the Royal Malaysia Police inspire a clear sense of purpose and direction to its officers and men, does it motivate, builds team spirit and trust? My answer to that. Sorry another big no.
Coaching and mentoring, an environment conducive to learning and ensuring staff are allowed and encourage to take advantage of opportunities for learning and growth, in the Royal Malaysia Police? You must be joking.
I am sorry but if you think the Royal Malaysia Police ensures that merit, productivity and achievement are rewarded by promotion and advancement at all levels, then you are dreaming. In the Malaysian Police, rewarding performance through promotions and advancement at all levels, must be the greatest myth of all.
Mere Allegations Or Truth
I am aware that I have made some serious comments when superimposing the current practice in the Malaysian Police Force against the management approach of the UN Secretary General in running the United Nation as outline in his bulletin of 31 March 1998. I am not going to agonize over the merits of my comments but will let you be the judge after going through my observations and views of the current management practices of the RMP.
How The Malaysian Police Managed Its People Training And Career Development
Training and career development goes hand in hand, one complimenting the other. The identification of new knowledge and skills or upgrading the ones already existing in the organisation, identification of personnel to undergo such trainings and the subsequent placement of trained personnel into positions that demands such expertise, makes for a “lean and mean” organisation, ready to take on today’s demanding and highly volatile businesss environment that requires highly speciliased knowledge and skills.
A well thought out training and career development program serves many purposes. As a motivating factor, it goes a long way into retaining valuable experienced personnel in the organisation, reduces staff turn-over rate, increases employee morale and does away with expensive expatriates (who most of the times won’t even transfer their knowledge and skills) for cheaper home grown expertise. Taken together these factors adds up to company's bottom line.
The success of any training and career development program cannot depend on ad-hoc and off the cuff decisions. Training and career development policies based on long term planning of the organisation’s strategies and future needs and implemented by officers who knew exactly what they are doing should be the norm, not the exception. How does the RMP fares in this area?
Training And The Malaysian Police
The RMP has a fairly large training department headed by a Deputy Director of Training with the rank of SAC I. Forever the sceptic, what I think this department is doing with itself can be answered by the following examples of the RMP training policy in action. Throughout his years of service with the force, a probationary inspector with an accepted standard of performance would expect a sure and steady rise through the ranks commensurate with his experience and seniority. To cater for the increasing demands in police knowledge and skills required for the coming positions that he would later hold, the relevant training would have been mapped out for him as part and parcel of his human resource development package with the force. This however do not seem to be the practice in the Royal Malaysia Police.
Example No: 1
As a young probationary inspector and ten months after being inducted into the Special Branch, I attended the SB Senior Basics Course. Joining me for the course was ASP Adam Bachik (who later opted out of the force with the rank of ACP) who by then has spent more than 7 years in the Special Branch. You would expect that such a basic course be given only to one who has newly joined an organisation to equipt him with the basic knowledge of doing his job.
Example No: 2
Cases of investigation officers promoted to the post of senior investigation officers without the benefit of a basic investigation or forensic science course where else a very junior investigation officer has undergone all the required courses are also not new. A definite policy on training and career development for example would produce the requirement that an officer goes for a basic investigation and forensic science course first before being posted as investigation officer or at least sent for the course within 6 month as an investigation officer.
He would then served for the pre-required numbers of years to polish his experience before going for a compulsory intermediate investigation and forensic science course and only after going for further courses in the specific fields either locally or overseas will he becomes a senior investigation officer.
That is not presently happening in the force as sending of officers for training and postings to specific appointments are made not on the requirements of the force but on the whim and fancies of the officer empowered to make the decision.
Identifying suitable courses for police work should have been a priority for the training branch but not only has it failed to carry out that task satisfactorily, it has squandered whatever training courses offered to the Malaysian Police by either not responding to the offer or by sending the wrong officer for the course offered. The various police agencies overseas have, time and again, offered places for Malaysian police officers to be trained at their respective training establishments.
The FBI for example has offered places for a 9 month basic FBI course while the Hong Kong Police for 3 years running has offered the Triad Course For Overseas Officers at it’s Detective School. Too bad, again I believe for a lack of a consistent policy, these places has been wasted. Either the RMP responded by sending the wrong personnel for the course or it does not respond at all, which after a time will cause the foreign police agency to retract its offer. Two examples will served to highlight the above observations.
Example #3 : The Wrong Officer For The Right Course
The basic FBI course is meant for field officers who is actually going to do the job on the ground. It would meant that such courses would be suitable for officers with the rank of ASP and below. However in the late seventies a woman Supt Of Police who is a contingent administration officer is sent for the course and on her return transferred to the management branch, Police HQ Bukit Aman. Even if the course is given as a US holiday for her, at the very least she should have been asked to impart whatever she has learned (if any) from the “holiday” to the force. That was never done.
A senior police officer once said that overseas training is not meant to upgrade the efficiency of the police force but is given as a “gift” for selected officers.
Example #4 : A Course Nearly Squandered
An example of training courses offered but not responded to by the Malaysian Police is exemplified by the Triad Course for Overseas Officers being offered by the Hong Kong Police. The Hong Kong Police was surprised when I turn up for the course in January 1997 as it has offered 2 places yearly for two years running without getting any response from the RMP. Although this course runs for only two weeks, it’s input come from world recognised experts in the field of triad activities with one of them holding a Masters in Triad Studies from the University of Hong Kong. As a mark of recognition for the quality of these course, it is attended by officers from the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, among others. Would these has happened if there is a set of training policies and training officers who knows their ABC.
Epilogue
Tunggu (kalau sudi) bahagian 2, esok.
Berikut adalah bahagian 1 daripada satu nota yang panjang berjeler yang saya tulis semasa bertugas dalam Misi Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu di Angola pada tahun 1998. Ianya merupakan pandangan ikhlas saya mengenai pengurusan (terutama dalam bidang pengurusan sumber manusia) dan hala tuju PDRM ketika itu. Sama ada pandangan saya ketika itu tentang PDRM masih boleh dipertahankan selepas 9 tahun berlalu, saya memilih untuk mendiamkan diri buat masa ini. Anda baca, bandingkan dan jawablah sendiri. Maaf, ianya ditulis dalam bahasa orang kampong saya.
20 Years With The Royal Malaysia Police
20 years is a long time. It is only natural then for one who has been in the thick and thin of it all, in good and in bad times to form and to have an opinion about the organisation that have taken 20 years of his life. Unfortunately in a society that worships conformity and equates having an opinion as “kurang ajar” (ill breeding), you stand being in danger of being ostracised for making your opinion known. The only acceptable exception is if your opinion serves to support the majority’s view. Going against the grain of current thinking can earn you a lot epithets, none of it complimentary or worst, your opinions will be taken on a personal level. And if the person you are giving your opinion to, is in a position of power, you can say goodbye to a rising career. Should the government of Malaysia be your target audience, you could end up being a guest of the government’s hospitality for at least 2 years through the courtesy of the Internal Security Act or whatever Act they can think off to ensure compliance with the expected official norms of behaviour and speech.
The Point Of It All
Although I try not to step on others toe, I do not make it a point to go out of my way to please others. You may or may not agree with my views of the world but at least let us agree to differ. I am not writing down my observations of the Royal Malaysia Police with the hope of getting it known to the power wielders in Bukit Aman. Neither will I water down these opinions just because there is a slim chance that it will be read by those who can make my life miserable in the force. I just want this notes to be a record of my feelings about the force after being with it for 1/5 of a century. There will come a time, when I am old and retired, I’ll take out this jottings and read it all over again. Maybe then I’ll apologised to the Force for being presumptuous in my views. A Detached Observer By writing down my views while in Angola, it is my wish that I can be a detached observer. They say that being away from it all gives one the ability to see the trees from the forest. Something like watching football from the sidelines. It is easy for you to detect any bad or good moves by any of the 22 players. It’s a different ball game all together in the field where your involvement makes it almost impossible for you to analyse every single move that can be made. Now that I am in Angola and away from it all, I sincerely hope I can be a detached observer. It is always easy to be a back seat driver. If there is a fairy godmother, I’ll wish for the opportunity to back up my observations with a thorough study of the police force. Even though I am sure that most of the “facts” as I see it can stand to scrutiny or vouched for by most members of the force, those who believes in the force will definitely assumed that these observations comes from an emotional, disgruntled, frustrated loser who never made it “big” in the police force. They have their opinion, I have mind. Although I would love to declare that mine is an objective appraisal of the organisation that I am working for, subjectivity may and can crept in. I am not going to apologise for that lapse. I am after all human. The worth of a man is in his actions, the stock value of a company in its profile. From it's current management practice and policies, so can you judge the professionalism and direction the Royal Malaysia Police is heading into, in the next millenium. I’ll begin my assumptions of the direction the Royal Malaysia Police is going by extracting a few excerpts from the United Nations Secretary General, Mr.Kofi A.Annan, bulletin dated 31 March 1998.
How Kofi Annan Manage The United Nation: People, Management Greatest Asset
“Our greatest strength - and the key to our success - is the quality of our people, both staff and managers. To capitalize on this strength, we need to create an orgaizational environment that supports managers and enables all staff to contribute to their maximum potential.” Does the Royal Malaysia Police provides such an environment? A big no.
A Sense Of Purpose And Direction
“I therefore expect managers to communicate a clear sense of purpose and direction to their staff, to motivate them, build team spirit and trust and manage performance to achieve results.”Does the Royal Malaysia Police inspire a clear sense of purpose and direction to its officers and men, does it motivate, builds team spirit and trust? My answer to that. Sorry another big no.
Growth Through Training
“The organization must provide a framework of opportunities and foster an environment conducive to learning. I expect managers to keep themselves up to date and to support their staff’s development and career progress by providing on-the-job training, coaching and mentoring, and ensuring that staff are allowed and encourage to take advantage of opportunities for learning and growth”. Coaching and mentoring, an environment conducive to learning and ensuring staff are allowed and encourage to take advantage of opportunities for learning and growth, in the Royal Malaysia Police? You must be joking.
Rewards For Performance
“In this regard, the Organization will redouble its efforts to ensure that merit, productivity and achievement are rewarded by promotion and advancement at all levels”. I am sorry but if you think the Royal Malaysia Police ensures that merit, productivity and achievement are rewarded by promotion and advancement at all levels, then you are dreaming. In the Malaysian Police, rewarding performance through promotions and advancement at all levels, must be the greatest myth of all.
Mere Allegations Or Truth
I am aware that I have made some serious comments when superimposing the current practice in the Malaysian Police Force against the management approach of the UN Secretary General in running the United Nation as outline in his bulletin of 31 March 1998. I am not going to agonize over the merits of my comments but will let you be the judge after going through my observations and views of the current management practices of the RMP.
How The Malaysian Police Managed Its People Training And Career Development
Training and career development goes hand in hand, one complimenting the other. The identification of new knowledge and skills or upgrading the ones already existing in the organisation, identification of personnel to undergo such trainings and the subsequent placement of trained personnel into positions that demands such expertise, makes for a “lean and mean” organisation, ready to take on today’s demanding and highly volatile businesss environment that requires highly speciliased knowledge and skills.
A well thought out training and career development program serves many purposes. As a motivating factor, it goes a long way into retaining valuable experienced personnel in the organisation, reduces staff turn-over rate, increases employee morale and does away with expensive expatriates (who most of the times won’t even transfer their knowledge and skills) for cheaper home grown expertise. Taken together these factors adds up to company's bottom line.
The success of any training and career development program cannot depend on ad-hoc and off the cuff decisions. Training and career development policies based on long term planning of the organisation’s strategies and future needs and implemented by officers who knew exactly what they are doing should be the norm, not the exception. How does the RMP fares in this area?
Training And The Malaysian Police
The RMP has a fairly large training department headed by a Deputy Director of Training with the rank of SAC I. Forever the sceptic, what I think this department is doing with itself can be answered by the following examples of the RMP training policy in action. Throughout his years of service with the force, a probationary inspector with an accepted standard of performance would expect a sure and steady rise through the ranks commensurate with his experience and seniority. To cater for the increasing demands in police knowledge and skills required for the coming positions that he would later hold, the relevant training would have been mapped out for him as part and parcel of his human resource development package with the force. This however do not seem to be the practice in the Royal Malaysia Police.
Example No: 1
As a young probationary inspector and ten months after being inducted into the Special Branch, I attended the SB Senior Basics Course. Joining me for the course was ASP Adam Bachik (who later opted out of the force with the rank of ACP) who by then has spent more than 7 years in the Special Branch. You would expect that such a basic course be given only to one who has newly joined an organisation to equipt him with the basic knowledge of doing his job.
Example No: 2
Cases of investigation officers promoted to the post of senior investigation officers without the benefit of a basic investigation or forensic science course where else a very junior investigation officer has undergone all the required courses are also not new. A definite policy on training and career development for example would produce the requirement that an officer goes for a basic investigation and forensic science course first before being posted as investigation officer or at least sent for the course within 6 month as an investigation officer.
He would then served for the pre-required numbers of years to polish his experience before going for a compulsory intermediate investigation and forensic science course and only after going for further courses in the specific fields either locally or overseas will he becomes a senior investigation officer.
That is not presently happening in the force as sending of officers for training and postings to specific appointments are made not on the requirements of the force but on the whim and fancies of the officer empowered to make the decision.
Identifying suitable courses for police work should have been a priority for the training branch but not only has it failed to carry out that task satisfactorily, it has squandered whatever training courses offered to the Malaysian Police by either not responding to the offer or by sending the wrong officer for the course offered. The various police agencies overseas have, time and again, offered places for Malaysian police officers to be trained at their respective training establishments.
The FBI for example has offered places for a 9 month basic FBI course while the Hong Kong Police for 3 years running has offered the Triad Course For Overseas Officers at it’s Detective School. Too bad, again I believe for a lack of a consistent policy, these places has been wasted. Either the RMP responded by sending the wrong personnel for the course or it does not respond at all, which after a time will cause the foreign police agency to retract its offer. Two examples will served to highlight the above observations.
Example #3 : The Wrong Officer For The Right Course
The basic FBI course is meant for field officers who is actually going to do the job on the ground. It would meant that such courses would be suitable for officers with the rank of ASP and below. However in the late seventies a woman Supt Of Police who is a contingent administration officer is sent for the course and on her return transferred to the management branch, Police HQ Bukit Aman. Even if the course is given as a US holiday for her, at the very least she should have been asked to impart whatever she has learned (if any) from the “holiday” to the force. That was never done.
A senior police officer once said that overseas training is not meant to upgrade the efficiency of the police force but is given as a “gift” for selected officers.
Example #4 : A Course Nearly Squandered
An example of training courses offered but not responded to by the Malaysian Police is exemplified by the Triad Course for Overseas Officers being offered by the Hong Kong Police. The Hong Kong Police was surprised when I turn up for the course in January 1997 as it has offered 2 places yearly for two years running without getting any response from the RMP. Although this course runs for only two weeks, it’s input come from world recognised experts in the field of triad activities with one of them holding a Masters in Triad Studies from the University of Hong Kong. As a mark of recognition for the quality of these course, it is attended by officers from the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, among others. Would these has happened if there is a set of training policies and training officers who knows their ABC.
Epilogue
Tunggu (kalau sudi) bahagian 2, esok.
1 comment:
Tuan, Do you know that there was a senior SB officer who had served the force for more than 30 years, now retired with the rank of A/ACP and he had never attended the SB senior basic course???
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