Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has clarified that the police are not allowed to randomly stop individuals and inspect their smartphones without a valid reason. This comes after concerns have popped up over potential abuse of power following the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Razarudin Husain’s comments about the practice last week.
Saifuddin said that the police must have valid grounds related to an investigation or a crime in order to ask civilians to surrender their smartphones for inspection. The minister added that he has asked the IGP to meet with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), which criticised the Razarudin’s statement, to exchange views and provide an accurate perspective of the matter for a clearer understanding of police work.
The home minister urged the public to loge a police report if their feel that their smartphone was checked by any police officer without a valid reason. They can also file a complaint with Suhakam, with the commission advising complainants to note the incident location, the officer’s name and identification number, and submit complaints to complaints@suhakam.org.my, its website, or in person at its offices in Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, or Kuching.
Despite this, Saifuddin said that there are still instances where the police need to inspect smartphones, such as when a suspect has information on terrorism and the police have intelligence to believe so. He stated that there needs to be a balance between human rights and security. “It’s about ensuring actions are not taken indiscriminately. Police must act based on intelligence and legal grounds,” added the minister.
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