Abdul Faisal, 26, recently became Hong Kong’s first ethnic minority police inspector since the handover and won three awards during his graduation ceremony over the weekend.
Faisal, who is of mixed Pakistani and Chinese descent, was one of 20 inspectors who took part in the police college’s passing-out parade to mark their graduation from the 36-week inspector training course. The 26-year-old won the Brian Slevin Trophy and baton of honour for best all-round inspector in his passing-out squad, and the Commissioner’s Certificate of Academic Merit for attaining the best examination results in his graduating class. (TL;DR: He kicked ass.)
Faisal joined the force in January 2010 and rose to the rank of probationary inspector last August, making him the first ethnic minority police officer to do so since the handover in 1997. After the parade, Faisal said he had dreamed of joining the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) since he was six years old.
“When I was little, some other kids came up to me in the park and called me a racial slur. A police officer who was passing by stopped and told them that we were all the same, and that discrimination was wrong. At that moment, I understood that police officers had the responsibility and ability to help people, and realised that was what I wanted to do.”
While there are still high-ranking non-Chinese officers in the force, the tougher language requirements introduced after 1997 has seen a decline in young ethnic minority officers admitted. In recent years, the HKPF has rolled out initiatives to boost diversity, such as Project Himalaya and Project Gemstone, which offers Chinese language classes to youths in Yuen Long and Yau Tsim, respectively, who are interested in becoming police officers.
Notable graduates of the projects include Heina Rizwan Mohammad, 27, who was the first South Asian woman to join the Hong Kong police force since the handover, and Ifzal Zaffar, the 20-year-old who made international news for saving a suicidal man by speaking fluent Urdu. In addition, the force began rewarding those looking to enroll in the police academy for proficiency in foreign languages in 2011, and introduced simpler language-proficiency tests.
Through his success, Faisal hopes to inspire more ethnic minority children and youths. “With my background, I want to be an example to them, to let them know that there are opportunities in Hong Kong, and that you can achieve your dreams with hard work.” His advice? ” Never be afraid of working, or of losing out. Often, the opportunities are right in front of you, but once you’re scared, you’ll lose them.”
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