Touching Speech by Top Cop

His subordinate had prepared a speech for him, but Johor police chief Datuk Mokhtar Shariff refused to look at it --- not because it was badly written --- but because Datuk Mokhtar wanted to speak from the heart.

And the heartfelt words touched many hearts, mine included.  The event took place at the Johor Baru Utara (JBU) police station in Skudai.

It was a ceremony to welcome the new JBU police chief Assistant Commissioner Khamsani Abdul Rahman and to bid adieu to the outgoing police chief Assistant Commissioner Ruslan Hassan, who has been promoted to Assistant Director of Management in Bukit Aman.

It was a bittersweet occasion, a teary day for the boys in blue.

Datuk Mokhtar said: "Policing, the landscape and public expectations have changed over the years and the police force cannot remain stagnant.  There has to be transfers; and the sole intention of a police officer is to serve the rakyat.

"We need to remain united as there are plenty of kulit pisang

just lying in wait for the police to fall.

"We work day and night. We work 14 hours a day but when one crime happens, we get a lot of shelling,  We just need to do our best, and leave it to Allah to do the rest."
 

with Johor top cop Datuk Mokhtar Shariff

The current staff strength of the state police force is 8,556.  With Iskandar Malaysia undergoing massive development and robust growth, it looks like the police force certainly needs more manpower.

But apart from manpower, the vital ingredients of great performance are teamwork and a competent leader.  One that leads by example, and cares about his men, like ACP Ruslan, and Datuk Mokhtar.

Ruslan said: "If you Datuk Mokhtar says I am brave, my men's bravery are beyond words."

Ruslan served in JBU for 7 years 4 months 3 days.  He will be heading to Bukit Aman now that he has been promoted to assistant director of management.

All the best Tuan Ruslan and to his successor, Tuan Khamsani.