Cover image via Bernama
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Two lawyers have said that police officers cannot publicly air their personal opinions on policy, after Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat said that his controversial statements were just that
Speaking to FMT, former Bar Council president Salim Bashir said that public servants had a responsibility to adhere to Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993, which prohibits public statements that could undermine government policies or decisions without permission from the minister in charge of the particular portfolio.
Such breaches in conduct could result in internal action for misconduct, he said.
Another lawyer, SN Nair, said that police officers represented the institution, not themselves, when speaking in public.
He added that while he has a right to personal opinions, they should not be aired publicly while in service, as such actions may be misconstrued as the organisation's official stance.
The role of the police, he said, was to enforce existing law, not to interpret or advise upon it.
Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat.
Image via Berita HarianBashir was commenting on Mohd Yusoff's controversial proposal on charging girls in statutory rape cases alongside their accused, and his refusal to retract his statements
He claimed that his statements regarding the review of proposed laws were a personal opinion, not a matter of official policy.
"Why should I apologise or withdraw the statement when it was merely my personal opinion? It is up to the government whether to take it into account or not," he said.
