The fatal shooting of a policeman, whose partner was left injured, after the duo came under fire from suspected robbers, warranted a swift response, said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today.

The premier, who is also internal security minister, directed the police to arrest those responsible as soon as possible.

"This is an incident which warrants us to respond speedily in the accepted sense of the word...police must act quickly and firmly," said Abdullah, whose internal security ministry oversees the police force.

A crime in which a member of the police force itself was killed was a very serious matter which implied that law enforcement was no longer respected, he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Hence the criminals should be arrested quickly and brought to face justice, he stressed when speaking at the monthly assembly of the Prime Minister's Department staff in Putrajaya.

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In the 11pm incident, patrolman Manja Manaf, 40, was killed and his partner Razali Abu Bakar was injured when two robbers opened fire on them as the criminals emerged from robbing a house in Taman Maharani, Muar in Johor.

The prime minister, who expressed his sadness over the incident, said according to the report he received, the patrolmen had gone to the house after receiving a complaint about a robbery.

Abdullah said he was saddened by the killing of the policeman and the injury suffered by his colleague.

Stressing on the need for swift action, Abdullah said the police should send the message that crime did not pay in this country.

"Firm and speedy action against criminals is necessary and this is the only way to send the lesson to those who try to commit crime that crime does not pay," he added.