A Day Out with RELA.

RELA on watch.

What is Rela?

RELA, or Ikatan Relawan Rakyat, is the People’s Volunteer Corps that operates under Malaysia’s Home Affairs Ministry. It was created in 1972. It’s members are Malaysian citizens who volunteer to serve, and they have the power to carry firearms, arrest individuals, and enter premises without permits.

What is the role of Rela?
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Rela’s role is to

• Act as a ‘home guard’, to maintain security and peace before take over by security forces.
• Safeguard defense targets, transfer and protect civilian to a safe place.
• Act as the ‘eyes’ and ‘ears’ of the government, to collect information for enforcement units, and patrolrespective districts for crime prevention.

Rela has been empowered to catch undocumented migrants since 2005.

Currently, there are 480,023 members of Rela. Any Malaysian citizen can join – there are no educational or physical requirements, and there are no background or criminal checks on those who join. New members attend 3 – 14 days of training.