Corruption has long been seen to be an unfortunate issue in our country and earlier this year, Malaysia ranked 62nd out of 180 countries in terms of public sector corruption in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2021.
In a video that has since gone viral with 2.2 million views at the time of writing, a policeman appears to be seen to be receiving bribes from a driver. The video was originally posted by TikTok user @jin_tsix but has since made its rounds on social media and garnered attention from indignant netizens.
What will PDRM do about this raging rampant corruption? This is not one off! pic.twitter.com/RBCTLwwjtz
— Dominic Damian JAN 1513 (@jan_1513) December 26, 2022
In the 41-second video, the man is seen to be wearing the uniform of the traffic police, complete with a reflective safety vest and a cap with PDRM emblems. The identity of the policeman may be hard to identify as he is wearing a black mask and safety goggles. He appears to be taking pictures of several documents on top of a trailer, unaware that a video is being taken of him from the inside of the vehicle. He then pockets some cash from another person but only their hand can be seen before they have further discussions.
The alleged offences by the traffic cop are punishable under Section 165 of the Penal Code with a jail term of up to two years or a fine, or both, upon conviction. Conversely, it is also punishable under the law to offer bribes.
Other netizens chimed in with their thoughts on the video. Somewhat peculiarly, another Twitter user also shared images of himself previously giving bribes to a policeman under the same Tweet.
Been there pic.twitter.com/5RQzzkXZHp
— zahir (@jayzahir) December 27, 2022
One user recalled an incident where their father was pulled over for a traffic offence that they hadn’t committed because the police apparently only wanted bribes from them:
Bapak i driver lori, dia tak memotong pun. Suddenly polis tahan cakap dia memotong. Pastu bapak i tegas kan cakap tak pastu polis tu cakap “takpalah cik alang alang harini takda saman lagi kami ni, cik belanja kami minum minum kira settle la” menyirap dengar boleh plk mintak eh!?
— Yana | Life Planner (@Liyanayasmina) December 27, 2022
Another commented that this issue should be tackled from the top-down:
They see their leaders and they follow. These are all ikan bilis. If we really2 serious pancung the leaders, the rest will get t message.
— Norhisham Ahmad (@NorhishamAhmad1) December 27, 2022
Others even tagged the PDRM, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), and our new Prime Minister in the comments hoping to bring the incident to their attention:
@PDRMsia @SPRMMalaysia @saifnasution @anwaribrahim harap kerajaan baru ?? buat reform baru untuk penguatkuasa! Rasuah sepatutnya dihapuskan selamanya! Pecat mana2 anggota yg khianat!!!
— goonerholic (@miegooner) December 27, 2022
One user said that although some may say that not all police officers are corrupt, such acts of receiving bribes are already so rampant that it has already become a stereotype among the police:
Nanti mesti ada anak babi kata “bukan semua polis macam ni ya”. Butohh aku tau la bukan semua, kau paham tak dah terlalu ramai yang perangai macamni dalam anggota. Tak penat ke orang stereotypes kan polis as “kerja makan duit haram” ??
— az (@madirr_) December 27, 2022
Those who wish to report corruption can call the toll-free hotline ‘Speak Up’ by Transparency International Malaysia at 1800 220 122.
Image credit: @jin_tsix