BERAMBUS is anger on steroids. This Malay word's English translation of "get lost" doesn't quite get us there. It is not a word that top police chiefs usually utter, but Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain resorted to it in all his exasperation. Who wouldn't?
Just after this warning was issued out of Bukit Aman, cases of rape, robbery and bribery involving its personnel were reported the very next day. On occasions, a combo of these are reported. Now, here is how serious errancy in the force is getting to be.
As this Leader goes to press, five Penang policemen were detained for allegedly extorting a factory worker of RM4,500. The five, who were in the mobile patrol vehicle unit, initially demanded RM10,000, but settled for less. Dirty desperation? Even cameras don't seem to deter some bent on sending their mischief on overdrive.
In one recent incident on the road between Simpang Pulai and Cameron Highlands, a policeman was caught on camera telling a British tourist couple, who were allegedly "fined" for speeding: "RM300 if you pay at the police station and RM100 if you pay me".
The video by the globe-trotting couple, who have a large global following, has gone viral. The police are investigating the traffic policeman for allegedly asking the tourists for gratification. From the context of the recorded conversation, the tourist couple seemed unaware that they were making an improper payment.
Bad cops leave a trail of victims, of the apparent and unapparent kind. The apparent victims are obvious, of whom we shall say no more. The unapparent victims — the good cops and Malaysia generally — are, for no fault of theirs, forced to share the shame. There is a lot of wisdom in getting good cops to rid the bad ones. The force cannot afford to tolerate such wayward officers.
We welcome the berambus warning issued by the IGP to officers in-charge of police districts (OCPDs): rein in your officers or leave. But what we would welcome more is to see the IGP actually getting these incompetent OCPDs out of the force. Judging from the noises made by the IGP, his deputy and other members of the top management recently, there are some worrying numbers of police officers at supervisory level, including OCPDs, who are in the watch list.
This must eventually translate into a berambus list for the IGP's threat to be meaningful.
There are just too many cases of errant cops making the news lately. Just as this newspaper was reporting the IGP's warning to senior cops, a police sergeant was remanded for rape. One such incident was alleged to have occurred in front of a police station. This is appalling, to say the least.
The uniform of the Royal Malaysia Police is meant to protect, not harm people. Cops with such tendencies and OCPDs who are unable to rein them in deserve the IGP's berambus call. The errant cops certainly deserve to get lost, but his supervisor who allows the errancy to happen, especially after the warning being issued from the very top, also deserves a similar fate.
Complicity mustn't go unpunished. Evasion or inaction would only make a bad situation worse. In the borrowed word of the IGP, we say to the crooked cops and their incompetent supervisors: Berambus. But it won't happen until the IGP makes it happen.