Received the following email on the despair and anger of a law-abiding and productive Malaysian professional:
I would like to relate an incident that happened to me and my family on the North-South Highway as we were driving back from Kuala Lumpur to Penang on Monday 2 April 2007. This incident had left me with a feeling of disbelief, anger and fear.
My wife, our 2-year old son and I had just completed an extended week-end trip to Kuala Lumpur. I was driving and we started our journey from Kuala Lumpur at about 7.40 pm. As we approached the Tapah rest area, there was a police roadblock, maybe about 100 metres before the exit to the rest area. This is now 10.15 pm.
I slowed down my car as we got closer, the highway had been partially closed to become a single lane. A policeman who was holding a clipboard or file or some papers appeared to look at it and then at my car. He then indicated to me to move to the roadside.
I duly moved forward and to the left of the highway. A few seconds later, another male policeman came to my car on my side. My car window had already been wound down. He asked for my driver’s license which I handed to him. He took it and appeared to copy down some particulars. I was still inside my car, I have no clue as to what he was actually doing, nor could I see his identification.
Police: Nak ke mana? [Where are you going?]
Me: Balik Penang. [Going back to Penang.]
Very soon after, he mumbled something. As I could not hear him clearly, I asked him to repeat.
Police: Nak selesai sekarang atau nak hantar? [Want to settle now or want it
(summon) sent?]
Me: Pasal apa? [What is it about?]
Police: Bawa laju, 123, Trolak. [Speeding, 123(kmph), Trolak]
Me: Tak mungkin. [Not possible.]
I was convinced, 100% sure and confident that I did not on the entire journey from Kuala Lumpur to Tapah exceed 110 kmph. I was absolutely alert and I had consciously driven conservatively that evening especially with a young child on board.
Me: Tak mungkin. Anak kecil saya tengah tidur di belakang. Saya pasti saya
tak melebihi hak laju sepanjang perjalanan.
[Not possible. My young son is sleeping at the back. I am sure I did not
exceed the speed limit the entire journey.]
Police: Nak selesai sekarang atau nak hantar?
I did not answer him but reinforced what I had just told him that there is no possibility that I had exceeded the speed limit. He had the last words while handing back my driver’s license. The whole episode lasted 5 to 10 minutes.
Police: Kita hantarlah. [We will send.]
I took the license back from him and drove back to Penang and reached Georgetown without any stoppage at 12.50 am.
Asking for bribes is already a criminal offence. Asking for a bribe from an innocent citizen by a law enforcer by fabricating a charge (speeding) and threatening to issue a summon? This is the cesspit of the police force. But I do not think they have reached the bottom of the cesspit yet.
Now I have first hand encounter with people who are supposed to look after us. Instead they have turned right around against us. I am now convinced that many if not the majority of policemen have many other dubious means of extortion. For example drugs can easily be planted on an innocent person’s body or properties. As the penalty for drug-related charges are so severe, many people will simply comply to their demand to settle the case with money.
The less rich and less educated people are the ones most affected for obvious reasons. Is it surprising that motorcyclists are targeted so frequently? What about the single-lorry operators (as opposed to big haulage companies, who have their own way of greasing the law enforcers) who are constantly hounded?
If a policeman reads this article, he will be giggling and laughing away. It is such a small matter to them. They have seen and performed more incredulous tricks than what had just happened to me and my family.
I have given up hope that anything can be done at all for one very simple reason. Denial. Everybody knows what is going on, everybody including the IGP and Prime Minister. Their answer if this incident is reported: ‘No, there is no evidence that such a thing exists and even if there is, it only involves a few bad hats.’ Wake up, the whole basket of apples are rotten to their cores!!
Back to my feelings after the incident. Disbelief and angry because such an unthinkable act of extortion actually happened and committed by the so-called law enforcers. Fear because they can go further. Will you be surprised if one day, the police just walks up to you and asks for money or else? You know, protection money, just like what the triads have been doing. After this experience of mine, I will not be surprised at all.
Lastly, if the summon truly arrives which I doubted very much that it will, there is absolutely no way that I will pay it. I will fight it in court if necessary.
These scums (no i dont even call them police) are just trying to tell the PM to increase their salary or else…..
About time we get handphones with cameras and whenever we are stopped by any police officer, we switch it on and aim it at the window. A measure we hv to take to protect ourselves and to bring them down.
Better still, get a hand phone that comes with a voice recorder like the O2. At the press of a button, recording begins.
Taking a picture of him may not be sufficient proof. Besides, he may go further with his intimidation if you shoot his pictures, maybe not C4 but perhaps C1, C2 or C3, whatever that may be.
I think yr case is a pure case of intimidation. Usually, they would hand you the summons there and then and make you sign for it if it’s an operation like this. If they do not stop you, they could be using a speed gun where they have a record of yr car number & yr speed – which they then send by mail to yr home address as per yr Driving Licence.
I truly agree with th writer of this article that these scums are actually doing all these for the sake of a few bucks. I had personally encounter all these and there is no way we can change all these now that the government instead of penalizing is rewarding them with a pay increase and by doing so don’t you think the government is giving its blessing to all what has been committed by these crooks and soon they will demand for more to commensurate with their fatter gaji. Very sad indeed and what can we do and looking at what the government is doing there will be no end to this. It can only become worse.
It is wrong to keep on giving sweets to our naughty kids whenever they cry. These will encourage them to cry more and demand more and there will be no end to it. What we must do is to teach them not to be naughty and if necessary cane them. When they behave then we will give them the sweets, but unfortunately we have a half past six government who only knows how to hire but not fire all because of politics. But the funny thing is they always accuse others of playing politics.
This government stinks to the core but the Chinese, especially those in the rural areas are always deceived by this stinking government. Election time comes they will sing them some lullaby songs so that they will fall asleep and vote for them. I hope the Chinese of Macap will wake up and not succumb to their lullaby songs.
Hey, I was in the same situation as you, even the same location (tapah). Happened about 4 months ago..
I was travelling back from KL to ipoh, and got stopped by the police. Time was probably somewhere around 11+pm
I guess the big motorola decal on my car (was participating in their advertisement) drew their attention.
Got stopped, winded down the window + was asked for my licensed. I politely asked wat was my offence, he looked down on his clipboard, hesitated, then told me, “you lebih 4kmph..”
At that moment I started laughing quietly, LOL! I asked nicely again, “tuan, kalau tidak silap saya, radar gun yang digunakan tu, PDRM ada allowance 10% kan?”
“tidak tidak, radar gun kita qualitinya baik”
“tapi 4kmph, amountnya kecil sangat tuan”
he returned my driving license and quickly walked off
Disgruntled (but laughing!) Citizen 1, Corrupt Policeman 0
In Ipoh, policemen off duty will go around the residential areas to collect protection money (so called security services). Should you refuse to pay, then you are “unprotected”… meaning… bad things can happen to you and your family AT HOME!
Its an open secret that many “roadblocks” are set up by policemen looking for alternative income. I have been stopped twice by policemen in the highways and both times they were asking to “settle on the spot”, which I always declined. Ask anyone that uses a motorcycle and they’ll tell you experiences of being extorted by these uniformed men that were supposed to make us feel secure. The politicians and the media can continue to deny this fact but I can assure everyone that majority of the citizens in the country do NOT trust our policemen. They are as likely rob us of our belongings given the chance as an organized gang. The only difference? They have a license to do that.
i also faced the same incident last year on my way driving back from KL to Penang. My wife & I went to KL for weekend holiday then. We were stopped at a roadblock around Slim River exit, if I am not mistaken, & the police told me I was speeding at Rawang (which I was 100% sure that I did not, in fact I never speed). I just told the En. Polis that I did not & 100% sure I did not, & just kept repeating it. Well, he never took my driving license, never insisted me on getting out of my car, nor asking to settle or send summon. After a few minutes, he just lemme go off continuing my journey. Though nothing happened for my case, but I have to agree with the unfortunate guy above. They just want $, damn them.
My wife also condemned the pay raise issue spoken by PM AAB via radio… something about “… bcoz their pay were low that’s why they resorted to extortion & bribery…”. How can he said like that? If this is the case, then is it every individual whom are low paid should go extortion & bribery??? If low pay, be more hardworking, do some partime or whatever which does not affect your job to earn some extra income, for god sake…
I truely believe what the writer say that the whole basket of apples are rotten to their cores!! these scums just know how to squeeze hard earned money from us… not protecting us instead.
I had a classic encounter with them as well. Went to a bar in K.L to hav a drinks with my friends. Didn’t even finish my glass of whisky. Fetch another girl friend of mine back and was stoped by a road block. A policeman just stick his head into my car. Sniff and tell me that I was DRUNK! Ask if I would like to settle or take the breath test. I opted for the breath test. He told me they didn’t bring the equipment out and I will have to wait for another 2 hours for them to finish the operation and follow them back to police station to take the test!!
Pay rise definitely will not solve the issue. A policeman should easily cover the pay-rise with just a single day extortion/bribery. The root of the problem is still with the police force itself. Corruption has been etched deeply inside the force.
Why Hong Kong can successfully clean its police force image in the 70’s but we can’t? That’s the answer.
I hope LKS will tell our dear PM that low pay should never be a reason for them to be corrupted. No body force them to join the police and they join the force with their eyes wide opened and they are well aware of the salary structure and terms and conditions. I do not even agree with “baktiau” who encourage them to go moon-lighting which is against the Govt General Order.
They have the choice to choose their career and nobody coerce them to join the police and if they think such pay are not attractive and insufficient they should look for some other jobs that can give them a better pay or alternatively increase their educational level.
As a matter of contention i) take for instance the factory workers in the private sector, many are also lowly paid; Can they mitigate by saying that they have to steal because their pay is insufficient. ii) Likewise what makes the government think that those highly paid higher ranking police officers are nor corrupted. I think they are the worse and because of them the lower ranking police officers become corrupted without any fear.
Having lived in other countries, I have received fines for which I had no idea what for in those countries. In each case, I when to traffic court and made my case to have it thrown out. In one case, all I did was said that I did not even remember being at the location and the judge just threw it out. Later on I found was that the procedure required that I be informed at that time or at least evidence of my behicle presence.
There is no desire to set up such systems of accountability here or the cops would have a harder job and they would lose all the extra income and govt budget would have little less for the big politicians….
Get ACA involved!…ooops ACA = Another Corrupted Agency
From malaysiakini headline:
PM: 18 VVIP graft cases hit brickwall
The prime minister gives two reasons as to why no headway was made in these cases – lack of evidence and missing witnesses.
What is this useless pm trying to say. Just tell out straight that you have no intention at all to rid of this disease as many of your relatives, friends, cronies will end up in jail.
What is the real function and duty of the ACA. Just to sit and wait for evidence and witnesses before they can act?
ACA duties are to seek out and prevent corruptions from happening, act on any suspicion of coruption, pursue for evidence and charge any corruptor in court.
1)Seek out and prevent corruption.
ACA employees must mingle in the crowd, visit government agencies and places where corruptions are more profound like any ordinary person. Do what any normal person will do at government agencies and see for yourself what happen.
Test drive your car in the highway and be stopped by the cops and see what happen.
Mixed with high profile government servant, pretend that you are interested and supporting them in whatever cause they are pursuing.
You are suppose to be an anti corruption agency, act like one and not just sit in your office waiting for witness and evidence before you can act. This is totally rubbish.
2)Act on suspicion of corruption
Open your eyes and ears wide. See who is living beyond their means. If a minister is seen to live in luxuries, big houses, big cars and by your own judgement(this you must have learn before you graduate to be an ACA) whether further investigation need to be carried out. Check their background, the income tax department how they file their income tax, see how many houses or land they own and do consider checking for proxies or close realatives and friends.
There are many ways you can act, your job is to go out to stop or get evidence of corruptions. No one can interfer or stop you from investigating them. If they have done no wrong they will be cleared and need not be afraid.
If you sit and listen what the stupid pm tells you, then you are as stupid as him.
Who the hell fight corruptions by asking for evidence and witnesses when it is the duty of the ACA to work out how to get and charge any corruptors.
50 years is ENOUGH
Vote For A Change
Vote For Any Opposition
Give Them A Chance To Change For A Better Malaysia
Remember bn Is A Useless Grouping Of Self Serving, Corrupt, Dictator, Power Crazy, Racist, Kris waving, etc, etc type of parties.
How come none of our politicians are prepared to go ‘undercover’ or ‘incognito’ just to experience what the rakyat is undergoing? Surely this is the best way to understand the real situation going around the country.
But then again, how could I forget! The wakil rakyat are too busy making $$ for themselves!!
Right BN?
what has been posted by writer is 100% true as i was also the victim at least 3-4 time. Usually, i took my trip back using Plus North South Highway and exit at Gopeng Toll. I guess the operaion is carry out in short time i.e 1-2 hours per operation to avoid action to be taken by Bukit Aman or ACA. My bad experience is exactly what the writer was wrote. I try to report to Bukit Aman KL once last year, however there is no action has been taken. In my opinion, the stern action shall be carry out to investigate these cases as it happen for several years already as i m using that plus highway more than 10 year go and back from KL. The Bukit Aman HQ shall investigate who is these group of traffic police from which police station and how they are daring to continue to wrap up the highway users openly, regularly and shyless . I think this group of traffic polices are the rubbishs to the police arm force. Our Bukit Aman which is very efficient under IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan now shall take the immediate action against them and kick the culprit group of traffice polices rubbishs out of the government. They have thouroughgly tarnish the police force image.
so what’s new?? in fact, it will be a very surprising and shocking news if our policemen refused to take bribes!!! so far i have never come across a single policeman that refused bribes!!! it is a very well-known fact that policemen are licensed crooks!!! as the malay saying goes, “harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi”. malaysia certainly boleh!!!
This reminds me of how i was stopped in kampong kayan while driving back from penang to klang, using the coastal route. Because of the heavy traffic, i was trailing a slow moving car for more than 10 mins. As i approached this curve, the car that i was trailing, moved to the left, as this portion of the road was widened to serve the purpose of overtaking. Just after overtaking, this patrol was there and flagged me down.
Police : Lesen. Tahu salah
Me : Gives the licence – Taada salah
Police : U potong di double line.
Me : Saya mana ada lepas double line. Kereta di depas bagi tempat untok saya potong, jadi saya potong lah. U tunggu d korner sini memang nak tangkap orang. U polis nak tolong orang bukan sengaja nak tangkap orang.
Polis : Gets a bit embarresed and changes his tone of speech.
we were exchanging words for about 5 mins.
I did not give in to my innocence. Probably realising that he cant get anything out of me, gives me back my licence and let me go.
Very well said…it has gotten to the core. The apples are all rotten.
Reading all yr postings, don’t you think there is more than a compelling case for the IPCMC?
“MORE THAN COMPELLING FOR IPCMC”
Anwar Ibrahim got a blue-black daze,
it went unreported for days;
Altantuya got blasted into space,
She disappeared without trace.
The deputy IGP was robbed,
Ex-state CPO was shot;
Toll protestors were mobbed,
Fuel protestors were copped.
Chinese boy murdered in a pool,
No evidence the cops drool;
Malay girl squatting in starkers,
Cops say to catch drug buggers.
To crown it all,
PDRM is fine;
New Vision, New Mission,
New remuneration, New chime.
Police Minister, a guy called Lah,
IPCMC, I see you see blah-blah-blah;
If police extortion you complain,
it’s a molehill compared to the mountain!
This doggerel is to tell you that
PDRM is like a mountain cat;
A vote for BN, oh so full of regrets,
The claws of death comes rat-a-tat-tat.
haha…i came across the same situation before, they are simply cheat on you cause they knew that most of the drive got some signal from the car of the opposite side before they come near to the road block.
How do i know they are cheating?Actually that time i drive from Penang down to KL, when i reach Gunung Tempurung(last time land slide side), the speed limit are actually 90km/h and i was kick down my feet reaching the speed of 160km/h. When i reach Tapah, there is a police block where i was stop by the police, the same question as i ask “apa salah?” and the police reply me “Pandu Laju” then i just simply ask “Berapa Laju” and this is the answer i got to know that they are cheating on me, he said “123km/h at Gunung Tempurung, sana boleh 90km/h saje”. Then i just wonder how could i drive 60km/h and you just got reading at 123km/h? Then i ask him “ade gambar boleh beli kah?” then continue “Tak Mungkin la, saya tak ade speed” which i did not tell him i was actually reach 160km/h at that time.
You know what the heck the stupid police tell me? “Nanti saya hantar pergi rumah, saya cakap mesti hantar” what the hell, is this kind of threaten me? and he give me back my license and i just tell him i will buy the photo if i got the summon then drive off.
So people, Police nowaday are like a mafia where they straight to ask for money from in Malaysia. The best way not being cheated by them are, get the summon and pay at the counter. No rasuah cos it is not worth, i know giving bribe is cheaper than pay a summon but you get peace of mind if you pay legally and dont let them have a chance to cheat on you again.
sorry guys he story never end yet, it happen 2 years ago on me, but until today i have never received any speed ticket from them regarding speeding near Gunung Tempurung, not even a single ticket charge me break the speed limit in North South Highway.
“Wage All-out War On Criminals Similar To Communist Insurgency – PM
KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 (Bernama) — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Thursday ordered the Royal Malaysia Police to wage an all-out war on criminals and terrorists similar to the fight against communist insurgency. ”
ENDANGERED HORNBILL Says:
April 5th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
“MORE THAN COMPELLING FOR IPCMCâ€Â
…..
Police Minister, a guy called Lah,
IPCMC, I see you see blah-blah-blah;…..
Sudah-lah, Pak Lah
Nak bikin, bikin sajelah.
Jangan goreng, goreng tak habis habis.
Aku tak percaya cakap mu lagi-lah.
Actually, you might as well take a gamble. Afterall, if you rx the love letter via snail mail, there are runners that can settle it for RM150. I am sure that settling “sekarang” would cost at least RM100.
I know this is condoning corruption but until a few of these “abangs” head start to roll, Pak Lah’s police force is even more corrupt now than 10 years ago
kerana setuang, semua kena. ada mereka juga yang honest, mungkin 40% out of 100%. i know few of them. so tak nak komen buruk pasal setuang punya hal. perkara biasa semenjak BN UMNO dan kuncu kuncunya menatah kerajaan.
kalau nak di bandingkan dengan kenaikan gaji dengan sogok. aku rasa sogokan lebih menguntungkan, kiraan harian. tu lah sebabnya MPs BN tak buat heboh sangat, nanti rugi besar, lagi lagi tak boleh beli kreta merz brabus…
aku punya falsampah…
Highway extortion by police??
This is nothing new.
One fine day I was cruising by in my used Mercedes and was suddenly stopped by a policeman in impressive looking, expensive looking dark glasses looking very much like Tom Cruise. He seemed to have appeared from nowhere. It turned out that he was with another policeman on motorcycle, conveniently parked behind some bushes. The policeman who stopped me was a Malay and the other also in dark glasses was Indian. This one had stayed back without approaching my car, and he was somewhat blocked from public view. Both looking very smart in their dark glasses.
Ahead of me was another car driven by a Chinese. He was stopped together with me. The policeman approached him, had a conversation with him for a few minutes and then left him to approach me.
The policeman who approached me went round the car once or twice, I guess looking for tell tale signs of my identity. I could be somebody he does not want to mess with. Well, it appeared that he could (mess with me that is, as I was a nobody but an innocent road user exercising my constitutional right of free speech i.e. driving on a public road).
Policeman: Ya, encik
Me: kenapa?
Policeman: Encik dah melanggar undang undang.
Me: Haa…?
Policeman: Encik crossed double line sana…
Me: (I looked down at the road behind me. In the middle of the road, there was this yellow continuous double line which continued for no longer than 3 feet. The rest was a broken parallel yellow line. I thought to myself, “Oh smart!†At this point the Chinese driver of the other car, was seen walking to the Indian policeman some short distance away, hidden by some bushes from public view. I looked at this driver and he was smiling away. When he came out on to the road after seeing this second Indian policeman in dark sun glasses, he was again seen smiling away from ear to ear).
Policeman: Nak ‘settle’ kah atau nak saya keluar saman?
Me: I showed him my name card and said to him, “Saya tak boleh ‘settle’. Kalau saya perlu pergi ke mahkamah, saya terpaksa pergi. Apa nak buat?? Tapi saya tak boleh ‘settle’.
Policeman: (He asked me a few more questions and then started writing what appeared to be a summons. Then the Indian policeman who was watching and listening to everything that was said came and whispered a few words to him. I heard the word “Lepas†and the policeman who stopped me said I could go. I happily drove off thinking to myself the bluff always worked).
The incident involved a Malay, an Indian and a Chinese. The moral of the story?? I leave that to you.
I drive often between Penang and KL and am able to identify that those who manning roadblocks in districts of SlimRiver and Taiping are the most corrupted. Frequent travellers know these two hotspots well.
Their tactic is to first to accuse then threaten. If they are successful, comes the famous question – “nak selesai sekarang?”.
P.S.
The asking price to ‘settle’ was RM50.00
It happen to me also lah..
Don;t answer thier question..
Just ask them to issue the summon as soon as possible..
Usually they ask me, where are you going? I will ask them back, what i did wrong? If he said speeding, then I said, you don’t have to know where I am going.
Also call someone and leave the phone running while talking to the police. So they can be a witness. Once I call a local radio station and request them to air my conversation live on air.. They chicken out!
What a whimp!
but I thought salary just increased? Still not enough?
What we’re facing is not about not enough salary. If salary is the reason, our greedy politicians would have stopped long ago from robbing the rakyat left and right without them noticing.
Broad daylight robberies happened even in academia. Plagiarism. And of course, contracts and greases through purchasing of high-tech equipment and now what? Renovations for a sports complex in UK? Coz it is so far from our eyes. The work done may just be 1/10th of what is billed.
Rakyat money is used up to buffer the BN’s war-chest, come election time. Period.
Either REMOVE or REDUCE THE MAJORITY!
There is no respect for Police. Respect is earn. What is their problem if they are slow and not efficient and ask for pay raise?
There is only 1 place they can rely… Papa!!!(government) and who pay the government ?? This is all BS …
Just think you are running a company and the security is as bad as shit .. what would you do?
“Boleh Selesai?” This is the magic word you can use to ask the officer. It worked all the time.
The payment is RM50 each time on the spot. No need receipt. They duly take your money and somehow cancel your saman. For real or for fake, nobody know. They are “The Law” and you are at his mercy. Don’t even think about complaining. To who? IPCMP? Does not exist yet. Sorry.
Even at midnight, they have scanner to detect your speed. I am not sure if they know your number plate. By right they need to produce evident (night vision camera? I wonder, never seen one). But I think too many people use fake number plate, so they have to stop you to give you saman.
If you take the saman as a good citizen, your fine is RM200. I don’t know if it is higher if you speed up to 150 or 180 or 200…
And now they also operate at small road, coastal way. Those area are hardly able to know the speed limit. Driving a while you see the sign changed to 60. After a while it is back to 90. You hardly know. But you will get saman sent to your home.
Ever since I have a car with cruise control, I set to 110 on highway, I never again got any problem. But in the normal road, I got saman for 80 or 90 because that area is 60! @#$%^&* Until today I still not sure WHERE the hell they spot me driving 90 at the place that supposed to be 60!
I think I am not the only one experiencing this “experience” above. Many of us just keep quiet. Life goes on. We all know Policemen are untrustworthy. They are bribeable, always be, if you care to ask “Boleh Selesai?” Their job also simpler.
What actually happened to our country? This is all the example set by the Top and the rest follow. Our PM already set the example to bribe and corrupt. It is like telling us, “stupid you for not taking it!” Absolute power corrupt absolutely. Very true…
There we go, our Malaysia. No wonder many of us either keep silent, or move to other country silently.
God bless Malaysia.
dear fellow commentors,
i don’t know if u guys ever notice that most of our police drive
without fasten their safety belt.
i always observe police car and i dare to say most of them did not
fasten their safety belt while driving.
in bolehland,the law is above the law!! period.
Ah, Tapah, yes, famous Tapah. Brings back ‘fond’ memories. Its got a very good reputation for this ‘cari makan’ business. They must be filthy rich by now but still want more.
Some years ago, I was also stopped at Tapah. Was following in a convoy of cars and we were all stopped. The others were waved to ‘jalan’ but I was the only one stopped for “speeding”? How come? They were looking for easy targets to ask for money. I must have looked so meek to argue or fight back. Or maybe they guage by the look of my car that I must be filthy rich and will pay.
These night ops are to target the weary travellers who just want to get home and sleep and dont want to be delayed. So the tendency is to settle even if there is really no offence. Who wants to turn up in court in Tapah to fight the case? In any case, the radar guns dont work too well at night due to poor lighting and their accuracy and reliability can be challenged.
You know, all the cops in the operasi are on the take. They pool all their takings and then divvy up their take. The senior ones get abit more la while the ‘freshies’ get less obviously, as they are still ‘learning’ the ropes. And they just love Thai and especially Singaporean vehicles.
After taking your money, some will actually be very friendly and wish you ‘selamat jalan’, drive safely, and not to worry, there are no more road blocks further up.
Pay rise will not help our Malaysian Police to perform better. They are already so corrupted for decades, it’s already in their police culture to demand and bully the weak. If one is confident, knows one’s stuff, in most probabilities they’ll back off.
Once at SlimRiver roadblock I slowed down to a near halt few meters away from the mata-mata with clipboard in hand; he checked his list then waved me past but as I was about pick up speed to drive off, he changed his mind(presumbly just noticed I was a lady-driver) and quickly called out to his other mate to attend to me. I knew something was not right, maybe ladies, senang bully, huh! How right I was!
This other mata-mata came over, had the cheek to tell me that their camera/meter showed I was speeding at 125 mph. I told him I could not have speeded, my cruise-control at 110 mph could not have allowed me to. He insisted.
I was mad, real mad and refused to even hand over my drivers licence to him. I knew it was wrong of me not to do so, but what he did, was far worse – he lied and I was wrongly accused. In the end they had to let me off, they knew they had no case against me. The camera/meter showing I was speeding at 125 was all a BIG bluff!
Ini lah mata-mata Malaysia, shame on you!
“Wage All-out War On Criminals Similar To Communist Insurgency – PM
KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 (Bernama)  Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Thursday ordered the Royal Malaysia Police to wage an all-out war on criminals and terrorists similar to the fight against communist insurgency. â€Â
Hahahaha hahahaha!! The man just don’t appreciate what’s happening on the ground. He has lost touch with reality.
Hey, they are all buddy-buddy la, slapping each other on the back, having a gala time. You expect them to “fight” against their sugar daddies? See what’s happening in Sibu.
What else do we expect our PM to talk about? Yes, he is terribly out of touch with the real world. His car will never be stopped by the mata-mata manning the roadblocks.
“Highway police extortion”, what’s dat?
paling best, after taking… policeman will say, encik, ni HALAL ya! ini kes lama punya cerita. never kena saman for a long time now. always drive according to road speed limit and signboards. tak nak kasi duit terbang…
HALAL la… tok!
In this year 2007, as far I can picture, these packs of crooks called highway policemen stopping motorists allegedly for exceeding the highway speed limit represent, to me, at least a 3rd generation of bribe-takers. From the 80’s till now, and in all likelihood, into the forseeable future, there will be no end to it. Consider the highway policemen of the 80’s, then 90’s who were demanding (and getting) bribes willy-nilly at highway speed roadblocks. Where might they be now? Probably promoted to higher ranks in their same or other police districts, dispensing their knowledge and experience to the less experienced and newer highway policemen. With their seniors’ own “successful” examples to emulate and guide the new generation of trafik cops, how to expect this new generation, the next batches (and the next, next etc batches) NOT to continue the lessons of income generation learnt from their seniors?
At least the Bangi intersection looks to be above board.. only the cameraman is busy taking pics from under the bridge, but no “teammates” up the road to stop you. so I guess that must be a true saman ekor. At the Sri Petaling interchange years ago, being stopped frequently was a matter of course, but rightfully, I was let go, not because I was not speeding, but I suppose because I didn’t look like somebody who would succumb or cower to a “selesai” demand, no matter how “politely” put.
For update on current practice, do take a late morning drive along Jalan Bukit Kiara (80 kmh) and you’ll be shocked with the number of cars stopped opposite the Pusat Sains Negara. I cannot believe, with the numbers of apprehended motorists, an insignificant amount of gratification do not change hands.
I have been stopped more than 3 times supposedly for speeding, at different times, on the KL-Seremban, at the Sg Buloh interchange from Rawang, and another occasion somewhere in Perak (possibly Tapah) where my speed was allegedly recorded at 122 kmh, at all 3 places. I do suspect that the speeds they claim were detected were FABRICATED at just over the 110 kmh + 10% “allowance”. I’ve never been to court but maybe some others can share whether what I wrote is a regular practice of the speed road-blocks.
Another “N”.ever “E”.nding “P”.olice practice that we got to live with…??
glad to hear that another has woken up from his sleep. but can’t really blame the said traffic cops as ‘bapa borek anak rintik’. corruption is a way of life in malaysia, no longer a disease as many thought so. so now, the police and jpj get the limelight and to top it all, of course we have the top echelon being said to be cash and carry gang. what most people begin to fear now is that it will spread like wild fire to the teaching profession. you see, in pmr or spm, 10 points are given by the teachers in respect of koko. this 10 points makes or breaks and can determine a student’s final grade! i have heard of parents complaining and demanding to see their children’s scores! These scores are kept secret and not revealed to students until demanded and it is always after the release of results. to make matter worse, i heard that the guidelines and procedures to award marks are kept secret when they should be made public. shouldn’t parents and students have a right to know whatever marks being awarded to them and in any case of disagreement, they can appeal way before the final exams? under such a circumstance, i see that parents are gonna get very ‘friendly’ with concerned teachers this year and years after in order to get maximum allocation of the 10 marks!
Sounds like INdia…maybe worse…
YB,
This happened to emonce from Penang to KL, close to Bandar Bharu. I was using a cruise control at 117km/hr since they do give an allowance thus you must not exceed 120km/hr. The cops stopped me nad said I was doing 122km/hr. I told him no way and arguedwith him.He kept asking me if I’m sure. Finally he told me that he will check the camera and if the recording there is clear and true, they will post me the summons. It never came.
My friend from Spore had the same experience too near Pagoh, always it is above 120km/hr..121 or 123…this is highway robbery with uniform and a licence.
They look at the car and randomly pick you and try their luck.
“…they guage by the look of my car that I must be filthy rich and will pay…” sheriff the singh explains why he was stopped!
So you’re trying to tell us, Singh that you are filthy rich??
The difference between the 80s and today is that bribes were then solicited discreetly rather than demanded openly by those you see issuing summons for traffic offenses. Today they do it openly and such flagrant breaches of the law reflects poorly on the police leadership.
The police leadership – and not only those “foot soldiers” on the ground you see patrolling the streets and those dealing in anti-vice and commercial crime – has lost all credibility. They must know what is going on, and if they don’t they should explain why.
I got accused by policeman for talking on the cellphone while driving. I told them that my phone was in my pocket and I can gladly show them my call record if they still insisting on sending me a summon. Not only did they accuse me, they belittled me and acted like thugs before they went off.
“only did they accuse me, they belittled me and acted like thugs before they went off.”
What do you mean?? These are thugs in uniform.
it’s so common tat nobody bats an eyelid …
it’s so common tat no policemen would think twice …
it’s so common tat even Bukit Aman dunnoe wat to do …
it’s so common tat ACA dunnoe where to start …
it’s so common tat Pak Lah prefer to be elegantly silent …
it’s so common tat I hav to resort to this stupid poem to keep myself entertained …
bahhh … Msia Boleh !!! Apa pun boleh …
I experienced the same, exact experience at Tapah too, right before the exit to Teluk Intan, last year (before Chinese New Year). I was driving down from Penang. There were a bunch of policemen (~10 ppl), and they stopped all the cars one by one. This police came to me, and the first question was “Datang dari mana, mahu pergi mana?”. I thought that it was a normal road block, I answered him honestly. Then, he walked to the back and jotted my car number (I suspected), and came back to me telling me that I was driving above the speed limit. I was so certain that I did not, but I did ask him for the location. He said: “Gopeng” (quite some distance from my current location-Tapah)… and also, I was told that my speed was 124km/h. At that night, 10pm+, with my old car, and it was drizzling for most of the way from Penang, I was so certain that I did not drive above 120km/h, not even 110km/h. So, I asked for GAMBAR (photo). To no surprise, he said it will be sent to my house, but “suggested” that he can “help” if I “want”– in Malay. “Saya boleh tolong lah, kalau you mahu”. sigh…. he did not want to let me go… and you know what was next…
…i felt ‘regret’. if it happens again, I will not “do” the same thing again…
This is interesting, the idea of a speed camera is not to generate money for the Govt departments – but as a safety tool to cut down on the road toll. So, if the Police is using this to generate income, then there is something really wrong here.
Speed camera will not work too well in the dark unless it is a radar camera and will need a flash to capture the number plate as evidence. There must be proof from the police to charge you – similar ACA line of show proof.
Beside, on one hand, the PM say pay raise should cut corruption, on the other hand, we need to show proof, after that, it is only a few bad apples. Could it be just that the RMP is just corrupted ? Developed countries do have this kind of problem all the time, why should Malaysia Police be corruption free ?
Nice reading all the experience of commenters caught by the police. I feel that the only way to stop these corrupt practices is to force the police to introduce video-camera recordings of ALL interrogations done at the spots of roadblocks. Such recordings must carry identification of police officer and name of the driver and vehicle number (spoken into the camera) so that the evidence is available in the event of a dispute. Only summonses that are collaborated by such evidences are admissible. Drivers who are not subjected to such routines will therefore know that the police is hanky panky and need not have to be afraid of being summonsed or have to bribe them. YB Lim please consider this idea from your legal point of view.
lets not all discredit the police force.credits must be given to those honest and efficient policemen(if thr ever are).the “saya anti rasuah” badges the policemen hv been wearing….i wonder how they wud really feel wearing them whn they accept bribes.ashamed?i dun tink so.maybe they hv been groomed to be that way(i mean accepting bribes).ever heard or come across policemen who will change a 30 ringgit for a 20 ringgit duit kopi over a 50 ringgit note?
Might be late to reply, but smeagroo’s idea of catching a cop in the act with a camera is not going to get the results you might expect. Dont forget the guy who posted the ‘bribery clip’ on youtube got called up by the cops for interrogation and got unnecessary attention from the press. The reaction the clip received was just a joke and i cant understand why react so sternly with something which is expressing the blatantly obvious.