KUALA LUMPUR: Corrupt cops who live beyond their means will no longer be able to mask their lavish wealth.

Bukit Aman’s Integrity and Standards Compliance Department (JIPS) is set to launch the new corruption watchdog system.An asset profiling system to be introduced soon would determine how much assets police personnel are expected to have, based on their rank and years of service.

JIPS director Senior Deputy Comm Datuk Zubaidah Md Ismail said currently, the force uses the assets declaration system for civil servants under the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations, 1993.

“This year, we are planning to implement asset profiling. It will be more detailed and require the officers involved to justify their assets and wealth.

“For example, an officer with the rank of SDCP is only expected to have certain amount of money or property.

“The current asset declaration system only requires personnel to declare their assets without having to justify why they have them,” she said at the department’s headquarters yesterday.

SDCP Zubaidah said the new system would enable Bukit Aman to gauge the wealth that officers were supposed to amass without raising suspicions of corruption.

She said by putting its own system in place, JIPS could also protect those who are honest in declaring their assets.

“We know some people, including cops, who resort to blackmailing to bring down their rivals or peers.

“So if an officer declares everything honestly, it will be hard to ‘wrongly’ convict him or her,” she said.

SDCP Zubaidah said the system was expected to be in place later this year.

She said the profiling would be a form of guideline of what he or she should have.

“If an officer does not meet the guidelines and cannot explain the excessive wealth, we will launch an immediate internal probe,” she said.

SDCP Zubaidah said the computerised system would also make it easier for assets to be declared and cross-checked for accuracy.

“Once it is in place, we will also perform thorough checks on the officer’s family members – not only the spouse and children but also their extended family members.

“We do realise that some police personnel or officers use proxies to hide their ‘unexplained wealth’, but we will do whatever we can to uncover the money trail,” she said, adding that the case would be passed to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) if any corrupt element is found.

High-ranking officers, including the Inspector-General of Police, would be among the first to justify their possessions.

“We want to set an example so it’s the IGP, his deputy and the department directors who would start first,” she said.

SDCP Zubaidah also shared some of her experiences encountering officers with asset’s discrepancy.

“These officers will portray that they are living a moderate lifestyle, but when we looked on their wives (housewives), shopping for designer bags seemed a norm for them.

“It is really strange how these housewives can afford the handbags and jewellery when their husbands are just lower-ranking officers,” she said, adding that some officers’ wives would even go overseas with a lot of cash.

A talk on corruption was also given to policemen’s wives in December last year to educate the implications of demanding too much from their husbands.

“Basically, the talk focused on living within your means.

“It’s important to remember that we are an integrity body so always keep close to heart who we are (by rejecting bribes),” she said.

Resource: The Star