Kuala Lumpur: An Indian-origin man has become the police commissioner of Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, the first Sikh to get selected to the top police post in the Muslim-majority country.
Amar Singh, 58, succeeded Tajuddin Mohamed as the city police chief on Monday.
In his speech during the ceremony at the police headquarters, Singh said that his appointment was an honour to the minority races in Malaysia, especially Sikhs who make up only 0.16% of the police force’s manpower, New Straits Times reported.
“This also proves that the force’s leadership are colourblind in promoting its officers as well as in executing our duties,” Singh said.
Singh commended his predecessor Tajuddin for bringing the crime index down by 17.6% during his tenure as the city police chief, Hindustan Times reported.
Singh’s appointment was announced last month. A third-generation policeman from his family, he achieved the highest ever rank by a Malaysian Sikh. His father and maternal grandfather were both policemen.
Singh’s father Ishar Singh joined the Federated Malay States Police in 1939, a year after coming to Malaya from Punjab and was a pioneer member of the police jungle squad established during the emergency.
His maternal grandfather Bachan Singh was a constable who joined the force in the early 1900s. Amar graduated in B.Sc from University of Malaya and did his LLB from the University of Buckingham, the UK. He has a diploma in Sharia Law.