KUALA LUMPUR: The number of policemen taking optional retirement has been increasing for the past five years.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Muhamad Fuzi Harun said this was a worrying trend because as of October, 2,446 policemen had taken optional retirement.
“An average 2,500 to 3,000 policemen retire annually. As of October, 2,446 had taken optional retirement and we expect the number to increase to 2,600 or 2,700 by the end of the year.
“This means more than 5,000 policemen will leave the force this year, and this is a worrying trend,” he told a press conference after 1/2018 series cadet inspector and cadet sergeant passing out parade at Malaysian Police Training Cemtre, here, today.
Fuzi said to overcome the problem, police were in the midst of studying the trend to find out the root cause.
“Some cited health problems and family issues when they took optional retirement. However, some chose to leave early because they can’t take the stress.
“I had personally interviewed some of them, and they told me that it was due to the high workload, especially for officers working on the ground,” he said.
He said to balance this, recruitment was essential.
“According to our plan, we will recuit 7,000 people into the force this year. We hope that the government will fulfil our request for new recruitment according to our needs.
“At the moment, the force has more than 9,000 vacancies. We need to recruit so it will not affect our service to the public,” he said.
During the ceremony, 248 cadet inspectors and 146 cadet sergeants graduated from the programme.