JOHOR BARU: Having a good command of the English language is very important for police personnel to help them communicate better and more effectively with the public.
They should make use of platforms such as seminars or workshops to help them improve their communications skills as an added value for them.
Assistant Superintendent Sahol Hameed Abdul Rahman said police front-liners interact with the public on a daily basis and being proficient in English would help them, especially when communicating with foreigners.
"For me, participating in a workshop to improve my English is a big advantage. I learned a lot from the various activities conducted," he added.
Sahol Hameed was one of the participants of the New Straits Times-Newspaper in Education (NIE) workshop for senior police officers organised by the Johor English Language Teaching Association (Jelta) at the GBW Hotel (formerly known as Grand Blue Wave Hotel) today.
The half-day workshop, launched by NST group editor Rashid Yusof, involved about 80 senior police officers from all over Johor. It was conducted by Jelta’s president Vincent D'Silva.
Another participant, Inspector Kho Mei Ping, said the workshop helped officers to have more confidence to speak and communicate in English.
"Since Johor Baru is close to Singapore, being proficient in English will help us to communicate more effectively with the foreigners," said Kho, who is from the Johor Baru North police headquarters.
Inspector Vivan Entiee Ngadan hopes more similar workshops would be organised in the future.
"I feel more time should be allotted for workshops such as this, maybe over one whole day, because then we can have more lively and interesting activities. The workshop not only helped us to improve our English, but also learn how newspapers work and use them to gather information," she added.
In his opening remarks, Rashid said in order to have a true understanding about an issue, people should not simply read the headlines in the newspaper.
"Don't just browse through the headlines. There’s a lot of knowledge and information in the newspaper that can be useful for you.
"The newspaper is also a useful tool for everybody to keep abreast with what is happening in the world," he added.
Johor deputy police chief Datuk Shafie Ismail, who officially closed the event, praised the commitment of the officers who attended the workshop.
"This workshop is essential in helping officers improve their knowledge, while at the same time get them into the habit of reading newspapers.
"I am confident it will assist officers in boosting their command of the language and exposing them to aspects of journalism that are connected with the duties of the police," he added.