MCA Vice-President Calls for Return of Elite Police Units Scrapped in 2018

MCA vice-president Lawrence Low has urged the government to revive three elite police units disbanded in 2018, saying enforcement gaps against organised crime syndicates and international drug cartels can no longer be ignored.

The units are the special tactical intelligence narcotics group (Sting), the special task force for anti-vice, gaming and gangsterism (Stagg) and the special task force on organised crime (Stafoc).

Low said the three squads were once the "worst nightmare" for organised crime syndicates. Their abolition by the then Pakatan Harapan-led government, he added, created a major gap in the police force's tactical and intelligence capabilities to combat organised crime and international drug cartels.

"We are all concerned and disappointed by the rising trend in crime, particularly cases involving drug trafficking syndicates and organised crime, which have become increasingly serious in recent times.

"The gaps in enforcement to address these issues can no longer be ignored by the government," he said in a Facebook post.

Low cited recent cases of Malaysians being arrested abroad after attempting to smuggle drugs, including a pilot who was nabbed in Indonesia for allegedly trying to smuggle 26kg of drugs.

"These incidents clearly show that drug syndicates and organised crime groups are becoming increasingly bold and are no longer afraid of the existing enforcement system," he said.

"The re-establishment of these three units is critical at this time to strengthen integrated tactical operations against drug trafficking syndicates."

Stagg was formed to catch the "big fish" involved in local as well as international vice and gambling syndicates, while Sting targeted the most notorious drug syndicates and drug barons. Stafoc was set up to go after underworld kingpins and those involved in gangsterism and other serious crimes.

The government disbanded the three units in June 2018, citing overlaps in duties which escalated into finger-pointing among them. The home ministry argued at the time that the disbandment would not lead to a rise in crime but would instead allow for better coordination.

After the change in government, then home minister Hamzah Zainudin said in 2021 that there were no plans to revive the three units as there was no need to do so.