PUTRAJAYA – Police must adhere to rules and regulations when carrying out inspections on the mobile phones of individuals, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Stressing that enforcement officials have to operate within legal boundaries in carrying out their duties, the minister said police will not “suddenly” inspect individuals’ mobile phones without having a reasonable basis to do so.
“The police should not be seen as a force that does not care at all about legal provisions. It’s not about them asking any Tom, Dick and Harry to hand over their phones.
“When a decision is made (to inspect someone’s phone), there must be a basis to it,” Saifuddin told a press conference at the Putrajaya International Conference Centre, here, today.
Scenarios where police would conduct inspections include terrorism and security-related concerns, the minister added.
He also said the public are free to lodge a complaint with the police if they feel their rights have been “randomly” violated by inspections.
“In a month, police receive 395,000 reports from the public (on various matters). What’s stopping them (the public)? There is nothing preventing them from filing a complaint if they feel that they have a basis (for their concerns)” he said.
Addressing concerns on potential abuse of power linked to the police’s search of mobile devices, Saifuddin said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain has been instructed to meet with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).
Yesterday, Suhakam had urged the government to clarify Razarudin’s claim that police can go through a person’s mobile phone if police suspect that a crime has been committed.
Suhakam said top cop’s statement was “troubling” as police police cannot be allowed to inspect a person’s phone at roadblocks in an arbitrary manner.
Razarudin had previously said police officers with the rank of inspector or higher are authorised to check a person’s handphone under the Criminal Procedure Code as well as the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
He highlighted that such checks must be carried out prudently and in line with existing legal provisions, not arbitrarily or without reasonable cause.
However, legal rights group Lawyers for Liberty had taken issue with one part of the IGP’s statement – that “no one can question the police’s authority to check a mobile phone during roadblocks”.
The group argued that routine phone checks at roadblocks would contravene existing laws, noting that the public is entitled to refuse demands by police to hand over their phones.
Razarudin had been commenting on a recent viral video in which a citizen complained about random mobile phone checks by police.
Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng, meanwhile, said the public must be clearly informed that only police officers with the rank of inspector and above can conduct mobile phone checks. – January 19, 2025