Royal Malaysia Police: Chain of Command, Core Functions and Legal Basis

Most descriptions of PDRM stop at the phrase “the national police force”. A more useful question is narrower: what exactly does the Act permit this force to do, who holds command over it, and which body determines the appointment and discipline of its members?

At a glance

Full name	Royal Malaysia Police (Polis Diraja Malaysia)
Founding statute	Police Act 1967 (Act 344), Part III
Predecessor force	Royal Malaysia Police under the Royal Malaysia Police Act 1963, continued by Section 3(1)
Head of force	Inspector-General of Police, under Section 4
Responsible to	Minister (the Minister responsible for the police)
Honorary Commissioner-in-Chief	Yang di-Pertuan Agong, under Section 6A
Human resource body	Police Force Commission, Article 140 of the Federal Constitution
Website	rmp.gov.my

Act 344 does not create this force from nothing. Section 3(1) states that those who were members of the Royal Malaysia Police under the Royal Malaysia Police Act 1963 immediately before this Act came into force become members of the force under the new Act “with corresponding rank and in a corresponding capacity”. So the 1967 Act reorganised and consolidated a force that already existed.

The force’s five purposes

The core of PDRM’s functions is contained in a single provision — Section 3(3). It provides that the force shall, subject to the Act, be employed in and throughout Malaysia (including its territorial waters) for five purposes:

• the maintenance of law and order;
• the preservation of the security and safety of Malaysia;
• the prevention and detection of crime;
• the apprehension and prosecution of offenders; and
• the collection of security intelligence.

The official government portal (malaysia.gov.my) lists the same roles, and cites Section 3(3) as their legal basis. This scope of “in and throughout Malaysia” matters: it signals a single federal force, not forces separated by state.

Chain of command

PDRM’s command structure is set out by two sections that must be read together — Section 4 (control of the force) and Section 5 (appointments).

Section 4(1) places the force “under the command of an Inspector-General of Police” who must be a police officer, and who is “responsible to the Minister” for the control and direction of the force and all other persons appointed for police duties. He holds all the powers given to a Commissioner or a Chief Police Officer.

Below him, Section 4(2) provides for the appointment of a Deputy Inspector-General of Police who is under the direction of the Inspector-General of Police, and Section 4(3) gives that Deputy all the powers of a Commissioner or a Chief Police Officer. Section 4(4) in turn allows an act of the Inspector-General of Police to be carried out — subject to his order — by the Deputy, a Commissioner, a Deputy Commissioner, a Senior Assistant Commissioner, or an authorised Assistant Commissioner.

Section 5 lists the positions that may be appointed for the purpose of carrying out the Act:

Level	Example positions in Sections 4–5
Highest command	Inspector-General of Police; Deputy Inspector-General of Police
Senior officers	Commissioner; Deputy Commissioner; Senior Assistant Commissioner; Assistant Commissioner
Operational ranks	Senior police officers and other junior police officers; constables

The ranks of senior and junior police officers are in turn set out in the First Schedule to the Act, pursuant to Section 5(2).

At the state and formation level, Section 6 provides that members of the force are controlled by a Commissioner or a Chief Police Officer for an area or state determined by the Minister, and by an officer designated by the Inspector-General of Police for any formation, police district or division.

One symbolic provision completes this structure: Section 6A makes the Yang di-Pertuan Agong the Honorary Commissioner-in-Chief (Panglima Besar Kehormat) of the Royal Malaysia Police. For the constitutional background to the Agong’s role, see Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

What the law permits officers to do

Section 20 sets out the general duties of a police officer. Section 20(1) requires every officer to perform the duties and exercise the powers imposed by law, and to obey all lawful directions from his superior officers.

Section 20(3) then states that it is the duty of a police officer to carry out the purposes referred to in Section 3(3), and lists the lawful measures that fall within that duty:

• arresting all persons whom he is by law authorised to arrest;
• processing security intelligence;
• conducting prosecutions;
• giving assistance in carrying out the law relating to revenue, excise, sanitation, quarantine, immigration and registration;
• helping to maintain order in ports, dockyards and airports;
• executing summonses, subpoenas, warrants and other orders lawfully issued;
• protecting unclaimed and lost property;
• helping to protect life and property;
• attending criminal courts (and, if specially ordered, civil courts) and keeping order in them; and
• escorting and guarding prisoners and other persons in police custody.

Two things are worth noting here. First, the power to prosecute is among the listed duties — although the decision to prosecute in many matters rests with the Public Prosecutor under other laws (see, for a comparison of power structures, how MACC investigates but refers matters to the Public Prosecutor). Second, Section 20(4) states that when escorting prisoners, a police officer is deemed to be a prison officer and bears the powers and protections of a prison officer.

Many of these duties intersect with other enforcement agencies — for instance, the reference to immigration and registration relates to the work of the Immigration Department, while the duty to attend and keep order in courts relates to the court system.

Who appoints and evaluates members

This is the part that is often left out. PDRM heads its own operations, but does not manage its members’ employment matters independently. Article 140 of the Federal Constitution establishes a Police Force Commission that is responsible for the appointment, confirmation, placement in permanent or pensionable establishment, promotion, transfer and disciplinary control of members of the police force.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, this Commission consists of:

Commission member	Position
The Minister responsible for the police	Chairman
Inspector-General of Police	Member
Secretary General of the Ministry	Member
A member of the Public Services Commission appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong	Member
Not fewer than two and not more than six other members, appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong	Member

The Ministry of Home Affairs states that some of the Commission’s functions are delegated to the Inspector-General of Police and senior officers through the gazette P.U.(B) 441 dated 14 December 2000. This separation means that matters of appointment and discipline of members are placed under a statutory body, rather than resting entirely with the force’s operational leadership. For the broader constitutional basis, see Federal Constitution.

Auxiliary forces

Alongside the permanent force, the Police Act 1967 establishes several supporting bodies that carry out police duties under the same framework. These include the Royal Malaysia Police Volunteer Reserve, Auxiliary Police (Polis Bantuan), Extra Police officers, the Royal Malaysia Police Reserve, and the Royal Malaysia Police Cadet Corps. The government portal also lists these supporting groups as helping the general-duty force to maintain public order.

Position within government

Because the Inspector-General of Police is responsible to the Minister under Section 4(1), PDRM sits within the portfolio of the Minister responsible for the police — that is, the Minister of Home Affairs within the Cabinet arrangement. However, the day-to-day authority of a police officer derives from the Act and other laws, not from political direction: Section 20 binds an officer to duties “imposed by law” and the lawful directions of his superior officers within the force.

What’s next

• Read the text of the Police Act 1967 (Act 344) in the official reprint linked in the sources list — the section numbers used above follow that text.
• For the constitutional basis of the Police Force Commission, see Federal Constitution.
• For a comparison of the investigative and prosecutorial power structure of another federal agency, see MACC.