KUALA LUMPUR – Amendments to the Police Act 1967 will involve changes to 10 clauses, including the insertion of a new Section 6A stipulating that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be the honorary commissioner-in-chief of the Royal Malaysia Police.
According to the blue draft distributed in Parliament today, the provision involves the amendment to Clause 2 of the legislation.
Clause 4 seeks to amend Section 21 providing for the obligation of police officers to carry out escort duties on any public road, and any person who obstructs, opposes or fails to comply with police instructions may be fined up to RM10,000 and imprisoned for up to two years compared to the previous penalty of RM200 and two months’ imprisonment.
The amendment to Clause 5, on the other hand, seeks to increase the maximum fine from RM1,000 to RM2,000 for any person who fails to comply with a police order to stop before reaching any barrier erected or placed by any police officer, stipulated under Section 26.
Clause 6 is also amended involving changes to Section 66, which stipulates that any employer who fails to re-employ any reserve police officer is liable to a maximum fine of RM2,000 and a one-year jail term compared to RM1,000 and six months’ imprisonment previously.
It also provides that any police officer who fails to report for duty for 14 consecutive days without reasonable cause shall be deemed to have deserted and shall be guilty of an offence, an amendment to Section 86.
The First Schedule to the act also seeks to delete the reference to “senior inspector” as the position is no longer used in the ranks of the police force.
Earlier, the first reading of the amendments was presented in the Dewan Rakyat by Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, and the second and third readings are scheduled to be carried out in this session. – March 18, 2024