The Indian origin Sikh officer Amar Singh has brought laurels for the entire Punjabi community as he has been appointed as the commercial crime investigation director at the Malaysian police headquarters and he will take the charge on October 14.
Amar Singh is the first Sikh officer who has attained the Malaysia’s top rank in the police department. He becomes the first Sikh cop to become a director at Bukit Aman, as the Malaysian police headquarters is usually referred to. The third-generation cop Amar Singh made history for the Sikh community in Malaysia when he was appointed as the Kuala Lumpur police chief, with the rank of commissioner, on 19 Feb 2016.
This was then the highest rank attained by a Sikh police officer in Malaysia. The PDRM Commercial Crime Investigation Department was formed in December 2004. It is headed by a director with the rank of Commissioner Police (CP) and assisted by two deputies with the ranks of Deputy Commissioner Police and Senior Assistant Commissioner.
Amar Singh’s maternal grandfather, Bachan Singh, was a constable in the police force. His dad, Ishar Singh, had joined later. Amar’s dad left Punjab for Malaya via Calcutta in 1938 at the age of 18. He arrived in Penang and did odd jobs while waiting for an opportunity to join the police force.
In 1939, he was accepted into the force and posted to Sitiawan, Perak, after undergoing training. Amar graduated with B.Sc from Universiti Malaya (UM). He also has an LLB from the University of Buckingham, Britain, as well as a Certificate in Legal Practice. He also graduated with a Master’s in Criminal Justice from UM, and a Diploma in Syariah Law and Practice from the International Islamic University Malaysia.