PETALING JAYA: A working paper to help bolster the Sexual, Women and Child Investigations Division (D11) is in the works, Bukit Aman says.

       In an exclusive interview in conjunction with the upcoming Police Day celebrations, Bukit Aman Management Department director Comm Datuk Zaini Jass (pic) said the working paper is being managed by his department.

       “The suggestions include the application for 100 new postings, eight promotions and a further 126 postings to be reshuffled into D11. Of course, we want to take the best but something is better than nothing, so we start with this first and see how it helps.

       “As a whole, this will bring about a yearly cost of RM7,994,406,” he said. Among the 100 new positions, four will be for the Superintendent rank and five for the Deputy Superintendent rank.

       “Regarding the RM13mil budget approved last year for D11 upgrades, RM8mil has been set aside to bolster the new positions, while the remaining RM5mil will be used to upgrade the standard and service delivery for D11,” he said.

       On manpower issues as a whole, Comm Zaini said the police force is currently undergoing an “optimisation exercise”.

       “This will be done in a holistic manner by restructuring the organisation and streamlining our operational systems so that human resources can be used optimally,” he said.

       Despite the high risk in the job, more so with the pandemic still bringing in high infections, the number of applicants trying to join the force has not seen a drop.

       “In fact, the number of applicants is still at a high level. We have enough candidates to train, but because of Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP), we have to take in only half. For 2019, a total of 16,520 people applied for inspector training, while we saw 31,134 applicants in 2021.

       “Maybe the increase was because we had no intake in 2020, but as you can see, the numbers almost doubled.

       “For constable training, we saw 32,688 applications in 2019, whereas 2020 saw 56,144 applicants, and last year, it was 54,317 applicants.

       “This shows that interest is still high despite the clear challenges faced in the job,” he said.

       Policing in the era of Covid-19 has also brought about difficult challenges for the management department as manpower is directly affected whenever an infection is confirmed.

       According to Comm Zaini, 24,826 policemen had been infected with Covid-19 as at March 18.

       “Of course, when someone gets infected, manpower is affected. If a roadblock is normally manned by four, we will reduce it to three.

       “We make do with what we have. Because if we don’t isolate those infected, the spread of infections will make the situation worse,” he said.

       Vaccination rates are very high, with 99.85% of the senior officers and rank and file policemen having received both doses.

       As at March 17, the booster jab take-up percentage was around 24.52%.

       “Since booster shots are via walk-ins, work commitments could be a reason why the number is low. Many don’t have the time,” he said.

       Comm Zaini also said that before law enforcers go out to enforce Covid-19 SOP, they must observe the same standards themselves.

       “You can’t see the virus, so that’s why the SOP have to be followed. We policemen must follow them as well.

       “We greatly encourage self-testing, and kits are provided. Those who buy their own can also claim back the cost.

       “If there are gatherings like those for the upcoming Police Day celebrations, self-testing is strongly advised, and those who attend must scan the MySejahtera code,” he said.

       As the country enters the “transition into endemic” phase, borders will be open, necessitating more manpower at checkpoints, though Comm Zaini expressed confidence with the force’s readiness to cope.

       “Covid or not, when it comes to border control, we are ready,” he said as his colleagues prepare to celebrate the 215th Police Day tomorrow.

       Like previous years, the theme of the celebration is “Polis dan masyarakat berpisah tiada” (the police and the people are inseparable), and simultaneous assemblies will be held at the federal and state levels.

       “We have several programmes laid out, including a road march on March 28 at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, which is a new item on the programme. We will also be having an assembly for our civilian officers as well,” he said.