At the Dewan Rakyat session in the Parlimen earlier this week, the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Mohd Azis Jamman has made a remark [pdf] that Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) officers are allowed to inspect mobile phones that belonged to the public. Given the subject and subsequent media reports, it is not surprising that many begin to ask whether PDRM are actually allowed to perform such inspection in a random manner.
The minister has since released a follow-up statement to inform members of the public that PDRM is not permitted to do so:
KENYATAAN MEDIA TIMBALAN MENTERI DALAM NEGERI MENGENAI PENJELASAN BERHUBUNG KENYATAAN BERKAITAN ISU PDRM MEMPUNYAI HAK MENYEMAK TELEFON BIMBIT ORANG AWAM SEMASA SESI JAWAB LISAN DI DEWAN RAKYAT#kementeriandalamnegeri#kdn pic.twitter.com/4nmki5xBqB
— KDN🇲🇾 (@KDNPUTRAJAYA) November 19, 2019
As shown above, Azis explained that phone inspections can only be done on suspects that are involved in active investigations. This is covered under several acts such as those mentioned above as well as Penal Code (Act 574), Sedition Act 1948 (Act 15), and Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015 (Act 769).
The minister also has pointed out that members of the public are able to report any misconduct done by PDRM officers directly to its Integrity and Standards Compliance Department. Alternatively, they can also report such misconduct to the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission, as pointed by this insightful article by AskLegal.my.
(Image: PDRM.)
