Comm Zulkifli Abdullah of Bukit Aman believes the directive will motivate the men to become physically fit and healthy.

PETALING JAYA: 10,000 overweight and obese policemen have been told that if they fail to gain a trimmer waistline in one year, they can kiss their promotions goodbye.

Bukit Aman Management Department director Comm Zulkifli Abdullah said that of the 130,000 police personnel in the country, about 10,000 were obese and overweight.

“It is not pleasing to the eye, especially to the public, to see overweight policemen on duty,” The Star Online quoted him as saying.

He also said it was important that policemen remained fit and healthy as they duties required them to chase criminals when necessary, something an overweight and unhealthy policemen would not be able to do.

“Effective January 2018, policemen who have failed to reduce their weight will not be considered for promotion,” Zulkifli was reported by the English daily as saying yesterday, at the closing ceremony of the Training of Trainers for the Trim and Fit Policy workshop at the Muar Police Technical College.

The Trim and Fit programme was officially launched on Jan 1 this year and will be fully enforced in January 2018. It will also include new recruits between the ages of 18 and 20, to ensure they were able to maintain an ideal weight throughout their service with the police force.

“The problem is after five to 10 years in service, our men start having weight problems and issues such as high blood pressure and heart disease,” said Zulkifli, adding that many blamed their weight gain on drinking teh tarik and eating roti canai late at night after clocking-off their shift.

During the three-day workshop, lecturers from Universiti Teknologi Mara and the Health Ministry imparted useful information on how to eat healthy and stay physically fit through exercise.

Some 193 policemen attended the workshop.

Resource : Free Malaysia Today