KUALA LUMPUR: Low salary is not the main reason why there are cases of corruption and abuse of power among members of the police force, the Home Ministry said.
In a parliamentary written reply, the ministry said many of the cases occur due to those who has strong desires for luxurious lifestyles which could lead them to a deficit in their expenditure.
"Low salary is not the sole factor in police officers' involvement in activities that lack integrity, such as corruption and abuse of power.
"The involvement of a small number of them were motivated by personal pressure such as wanting to have a luxury living, spending beyond their means such as purchasing cars, clothes and home furnishings and so on, causing them to have a deficit in their expenditure.
"Statistics on the involvement of police personnel in corrupted practices in 2016 released by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is 187 cases or 0.15 per cent of the total police force," it said.
The ministry said this in response to a question by Tenom Member of Parliament Datuk Raime Unggi who asked Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to review the wage scheme for police officers as a way to combat corruption and abuse of power in the force.
"The ministry and police constantly made arrangements to provide housing and comfortable workplace conditions for police officers, on top of reviewing their allowance.
"The government also seek to improve the quality of life of police officers by introducing new types of allowance to suit their needs," the ministry added.