General

What powers do the Auxiliary Police (Polis

Bantuan) have in Malaysia?
 almost 2 years ago  chiahoong lim

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not meant to be used or construed as legal advice in any manner
whatsoever. All articles have been scrutinized by a practicing lawyer to ensure accuracy.

We’ve all (mostly?) seen the friendly neighbourhood Auxiliary Police (Polis Bantuan) at LRT/MRT/other train stations
and at malls – you know, the guys who kinda look like cops, but you see the words “Polis Bantuan” when you look at
their uniform closely. We also probably wondered what they actually do and if they’re actually legit PDRM. How are
they chosen? How are they trained? Can they carry rearms? What’s the difference between them and the actual
PDRM?
Image from Polis Bantuan Malaysia’s Facebook Page (yes they have a FB page)

Here’s an overview with the basics of everything you need to know about the Auxiliary Police, starting with...

1. Powers and Duties

Never pass up on the opportunity to use the POOOWEEEEEEEEER gif. Image by tenorgif

So just to make it really clear, an Auxiliary Policeman is NOT an overglori ed security guard. They’re actually
appointed and governed under sections 47 – 50 of the Police Act 1967 for the purpose of providing additional
policing in areas where regular police patrols may be inadequate, and can be deployed to support PDRM o cers in
certain scenarios. 

Generally, a private establishment (such as a mall) “employs” the Auxiliary Police by making a formal request to the
PDRM to gain their services, and provide them with a salary. According to the PDRM portal, the general rule is that
the auxiliary police’s employment contract is on a month-to-month basis, subject to agreement with whichever
establishment they work with. 

Regular tasks they do include:

1. Patrolling and watchman duty

2. Crowd control, body/vehicle searches
3. Protecting and escorting their employer’s property
4. Preventing crime
5. Detecting and arresting offenders

The main duties of the Auxiliary Police are to protect the property of their employer and prevent criminal activity in
areas they’re posted in. This means that they effectively function as regular police in their employer’s property. As
mentioned above, they also work alongside regular police, so how do they prevent a “turf war” when it comes to
safeguarding the public?

Great question.  

Paragraph 20 of the Perintah Tetap Ketua Polis Negara (PTKPN) A501 states that when an Auxiliary Police
collaborates with a regular police o cer, the Auxiliary Police has to be lower in rank than the police o cer. In
additon, paragraph 6.5 states that the highest rank of any Auxiliary Police cannot be higher than the highest rank of
the Ketua Polis Daerah in any given area.

2. Appointment of Auxiliary Police

Chief Wiggum will make you an o cer if you have pizza. Image by imgur

Section 47(1) of the Police Act 1967 gives us:

“ The Inspector General may, with the concurrence of the Minister, appoint or promote any
person to serve in the Auxiliary Police as a senior auxiliary police o cer with the
honorary rank of Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent or
Inspector, and may prescribe the area in which he shall serve.

The Inspector-General of Police, with the green light from the Home Affairs Minister, can appoint any person to
serve a senior auxiliary police role with the honorary rank of Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, Assistant
Superintendent or Inspector. These people will typically be existing police o cers or people who have gone through
training.

Section 47(2) sets out the appointment of junior auxiliary police:

‘ A Commanding O cer or any police o cer authorized by him in that behalf, may, with or
without written engagement, appoint or promote any person to serve in the Auxiliary
Police as a junior auxiliary police o cer with the honorary rank of subinspector,
sergeant-major, sergeant or corporal or as an auxiliary police constable, and may
prescribe the area in which he shall serve.

A Commanding O cer or any police o cer authorized by said O cer can appoint any person (after training) to be a
junior auxiliary police. Just like the appointment for senior Auxiliary Police o cers, people who are existing police
o cers or people who have gone through training will be appointed. 

I’m sure many are curious about how the Auxiliary Police are trained. We’re gonna nd that out next.

3. Training
DROP DOWN AND GIVE ME TWENTY, MAGGOT. Image by yt

If anyone was in the Police Cadet in middle/high school, you’d probably remember the times you had to do march
training and all the other stuff. It’s similar, but yet different, for Auxiliary Police prospects. They go through a 9-week
long training regimen at selected Pusat Latihan Polis. Their employers are responsible for their accommodation,
food, tools/equipment and other things needed for the training. The Bukit Aman Training Facility supplies the training
syllabus and they are reviewed time to time to ensure e cacy and relevancy. 

Employers of Auxiliary Police o cers must also supplement their o cers with courses and additional training over
time. They may also contact the Auxiliary Police body itself to nd out if there’s any suitable training regimens to
improve their “troops”. An example of the training schedule can be found here.

Any legitimate policing organization has a code of conduct. These are given in Paragraphs 26-28.

Paragraph 26: any one auxiliary police o cer are subject to the code of conduct that also govern regular
police o cers that are of the same rank
Paragraph 27: employers are responsible for the wrongdoings of their auxiliary o cers and they must report
any disciplinary actions taken to the relevant Commissioner/Chief of Police of State. Any further actions are
discretionary.
Paragraph 28: The IGP can, at any time, take away the powers of a senior o cer of Auxiliary Police and also
demote him to a lower rank. Concurrently, the IGP can also at any time take away the powers of a lower
Auxiliary o cial or an Auxiliary constable.

As mentioned in the intro, we’ve seen the Auxiliary Police carry guns, so...

4. Firearms, handcuffs and batons

“PEW PEW PEWPEW” “Dammit Hashim not like that” Image by apaorg

 Here’s the fun part: Yes, they are allowed to carry rearms, handcuffs and batons.
According to Paragraph 25, auxiliary police are authorized to carry rearms that are registered under their
employer’s name. There’s a catch though – they can only carry rearms when they are on duty, and only in areas
speci ed by their employer. It’s a no-go otherwise. This same principle applies to batons and handcuffs.

How far do we need to obey the Auxiliary Police?

Since the Auxiliary Police o cers are employed privately, they can only exercise their powers within the boundaries
of the property where they are assigned. They have no powers outside of said boundaries and locations.

So there is no need to be afraid of them if you see them on the street… not that you need to be afraid of them where
they work either, unless you’ve done something criminal.

Tags: polis police act 1967 bantuan auxiliary police security guard

perintah tetap ketua polis negara (ptkpn) a501

chiahoong lim
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