Permanent Secretariat

The ASEANAPOL Permanent Secretariat serves as the administrative and operational hub of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Chiefs of Police. Established to provide continuity of organisational functions between annual conferences, the Secretariat ensures the smooth coordination of ASEANAPOL's programmes, initiatives, and communications.

The Secretariat is hosted by the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) and is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is staffed by officers from ASEAN member states and is headed by an Executive Director, a senior officer nominated by the host country.

The Permanent Secretariat is responsible for maintaining ASEANAPOL's records, facilitating inter-agency communication, coordinating working committees, and supporting the planning of annual conferences and other cooperative activities.

Prior to the establishment of the Permanent Secretariat, the ASEANAPOL Secretariat operated on a rotational basis, with member countries taking turns to host the ASEANAPOL Conference and automatically assuming the role of the Secretariat for that year.

The 25th Joint Communiqué signed by the ASEAN Chiefs of Police during the 25th ASEANAPOL Conference held in Bali, Indonesia, expressly stated the need to establish a Permanent ASEANAPOL Secretariat.

Objectives of the establishment of a Permanent Secretariat:

• To harmonise and standardise coordination and communication mechanisms amongst ASEAN police institutions;
• To conduct a comprehensive and integrative study concerning the resolutions agreed in the ASEANAPOL Joint Communiqués;
• To establish a mechanism with responsibility to monitor and follow up the implementation of resolutions in the Joint Communiqués; and
• To transform the resolutions adopted in the Joint Communiqués into the ASEANAPOL Plan of Action and its work programme.

The working group set up to consider the viability of the Permanent ASEANAPOL Secretariat finalised that:

1. The Secretariat shall be administered based on the Terms of Reference;
2. The Head of the Secretariat is an Executive Director and he is assisted by 2 Directors.

The tenure of services are: Executive Director — 2 years; Directors — 2 to 3 years.

During the 29th ASEANAPOL Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2009, the Terms of Reference on the establishment of the ASEANAPOL Secretariat was endorsed. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was made the permanent seat for the Secretariat.

The ASEANAPOL Secretariat was fully operational from 1 January 2010.