POLICE PLAN MASSIVE INTAKE NEXT YEAR

Police plan massive intake next year

KOTA KINABALU 1/10/2012: A massive police recruitment exercise not seen in the nation for the past 43 years is set to take off next year, thanks to Budget 2013.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the last mass recruitment for the police force was conducted in 1969.

“The budget announcement includes an increase in police force strength. Previous expansion exercises has not been in pace with the country's demographics,” he said, adding that there are now 110,000 police personnel serving 28.3 million people.

“This means that there is one policeman for every 257 people in the country,”

he said after attending a gathering with Rela members in Beaufort yesterday.

On Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced allocations totalling RM591mil for crime-fighting efforts for 2013.

On Rela, Hishamuddin said Rela officers would receive RM7.80 per hour, while other ranks would receive RM6 in allowances.

He said the newly established Motorcycle Patrol Unit, which was allocated RM20mil, was vital in solving the increasing number of house break-ins.

In BERA, Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said residents in more than 100 areas in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan could buy essential items at uniform prices following the Budget 2013 announcement.

“For example, those in Ba'kelalan, Sarawak, will only pay RM26.60 for a cooking gas cylinder compared to RM70 previously. The 50% discount on ferry charges for passengers will mean lower transportation costs,” he added.

In TEMERLOH, MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel welcomed the RM100mil allocated for Tamil schools under the Special Fund for the Building, Improvement and Maintenance of Schools, which would be used to renovate, repair and build additional structures at Tamil schools.

In JOHOR BARU, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordinsaid the RM600mil allocation to five research universities would increase the number of researchers in the country.

“These universities should also produce more journals to ensure that they can be used as reference material,” he said after launching the new headquarters of the Johor Truck Dealers Association at Taman Johor Jaya yesterday.

He added that there are about 30,000 researchers at various research universities nationwide.