The Inspector-General of Police ( abbreviation: IGP; — ''KPN''), also known as the Chief of Police, is the highest-ranking

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

of the

Royal Malaysian Police The Royal Malaysia Police (often abbreviated RMP) ( ms, Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM)), is a (primarily) uniformed national and federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organisation. Its headquarters are located at Bukit Ama ...

(RMP; ). Assisted by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG; ), he reports to the

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. The IGP is based at Bukit Aman,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

which is the Headquarters of the RMP. The current IGP is Tan Sri

Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani Tan Sri Acryl Sani bin Haji Abdullah Sani ( Jawi: اقر الثاني عبدﷲ ثاني; born 3 October 1961) is a Malaysian police officer who has served as the 13th Inspector-General of Police (IGP) since May 2021. He served as the Deputy Ins ...

– having succeeded his predecessor, Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador in May 2021. Inspectors-General of Police currently are mandated to retire once reach the age of 60, but may be extended upon exceptional circumstances.

History

During the (Malacca Sultanate) (1400–1511), the position that resembles modern chief of police is the ''

Temenggong Temenggong or Tumenggung ( Jawi: تمڠݢوڠ; ''Temenggung'', Hanacaraka: ꦠꦸꦩꦼꦁꦒꦸꦁ; ''Tumenggung'') is an old Malay and Javanese title of nobility, usually given to the chief of public security. Responsibilities The Tem ...

'' ('Chief of Public Security'). After the fall of Malacca and up to the 17th century, Malaya was under several western powers including Portugal, the Netherlands and Britain, and the task of securing public safety in Malaya fell to these nations' militaries. In 1807, the British administration in Malaya has approved the Charter of Justice. Under the Charter, British administrations allowed a police force comprises locals to be formed. Penang is the first to establish their police force and James Carnegy was appointed to be the first Sheriff of Prince of Wales Islands (the then name for Penang). Malacca is the second state to established its police force which is in 1827 and other states follows —

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime ...

in 1882, the Federated Malay States in 1896,

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...

and

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in th ...

in 1909 and

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith" ...

in 1914. Captain Charles Henry Syers who was the

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

Commissioner of Police was appointed to be the first Federated Malay States' Commissioner of Police. For North Borneo,

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

established its police force namely the

Sarawak Rangers The Sarawak Rangers were a para-military force founded in 1862 by the second White Rajah of the Raj of Sarawak, Charles Brooke. They evolved from the fortmen which were raised to defend Kuching in 1846. The Sarawak Rangers were first commande ...

, in 1862, and

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

in 1882. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and the

Japanese occupation of Malaya The then British colony of Malaya was gradually occupied by the Japanese between 8 December 1941 and the Allied surrender at Singapore on 16 February 1942. The Japanese remained in occupation until their surrender to the Allies in 1945. The ...

, the British administration has merged all police forces in Malaya into Malayan Union Police and based in Kuala Lumpur. After the

independence of Malaya Independence Day ( ms, Hari Merdeka, also known as ''Hari Kebangsaan'' or "National Day"), is the official independence day of Malaya. It commemorates the Malayan Declaration of Independence of 31 August 1957, and is defined in Article 160 ...

, the name was changed to Federation of Malaya Police. On 16 September 1963, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore merged with Federation of Malaya and forming Malaysia. The name of the police force once again changed to its current name — the Royal Malaysia Police. Commissioner

Claude Fenner Tan Sri Sir Claude Harry Fenner (16 January 1916 − 15 May 1978) was the first Inspector-General of Police of Malaysia, serving from 18 September 1958 to 28 February 1966.Obituary, The Times, London, 19 June 1978 Background Fenner was born on ...

, who was the Federation of Malaya's Commissioner of Police was appointed to become the first Inspectors-General of Police of Malaysia.

List of the Inspectors-General of Police

Living former Inspectors-General

Mohammed Hanif Omar Tun Mohammed Hanif bin Omar ( ms, محمد حنيف بن عمر, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 16 January 1939) is a retired Malaysian police officer who served as the 4th Inspector-General of Royal Malaysia Police from June 197 ...

* Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor *

Norian Mai Tan Sri Norian Mai (born 5 November 1946) was the sixth Inspector-General of Police (IGP) of Malaysia and served from 8 January 1999 until his retirement on 4 November 2003. Education Norian attended Government English School in Teluk Intan in ...

* Musa Hassan * Ismail Omar * Khalid Abu Bakar * Mohamad Fuzi Harun * Abdul Hamid Bador

References

{{Inspector General of Royal Malaysian Police