This is because of the increasing number of policemen who retire voluntarily every year.
“Up till October this year there had been 2,446 policemen who voluntarily left the force before reaching retirement age,” the IGP said, adding that this number might reach 2,700 by the end of the year.
He said this was a concern to the upper leadership of the police because this would mean that the total number of retirees would be approximately 5,000 every year, including those who retired after reaching retirement age.
However, he noted that the recruitment of new officers might reach 7,000 this year, and, therefore, help fill the 9,000 vacancies in the police force.
Fuzi said: “We are investigating why there are so many who opt out. For the time being, we cannot say for certain why this is occurring.
“However, through interviews and dialogues, we found that a lot of them cannot handle the stress while carrying out their duties, especially for the low-level police officers on the ground.”
He added that some officers who opted out cited health and family problems.
“Some of their wives and family members are sick, or some have disabled children. But others say they suffer high levels of stress because of the workload.”
He hoped the government would fulfill police’s requests for new recruitment.
Fuzi was speaking at a press conference after the passing-out parade of 412 police inspectors and sergeants in Kuala Lumpur today.
“The members who participated in the passing-out parade today were already serving officers. This programme is to provide opportunities to serving officers to climb up in their careers, if they meet the criteria.
“For sergeants, they must have a diploma, and inspectors must have a degree, in whatever field but with minimum grade requirements. We don’t just pick whoever to lead our police force,” he added.