16
speak up!
Duty to serve and protect
THE finding of the Hu-
man Rights Commis-
sion of Malaysia (Su-
hakam) on Wednesday
that police and Federal
Reserve Unit (FRU) had
used excessive force in
handling the protest of a
road closure in Bandar
Mahkota Cheras un- Down2Earth a stark contrast to the
derscores the general by Terence Fernandez conduct of personnel
public perception of
our law enforcement
authorities.
Now, it would be unfair to
lump all uniformed personnel in
this category of baton lovers and
the trigger happy, but the con-
duct of some lawmen does not
do justice to an agency whose
primary purpose is to serve and
protect.
Over the past year, newspa-
pers and the Net have been in-
undated with images of bloodied
and roughed up members of the
public – including politicians
from the opposition alliance and
NGOs – purportedly inflicted by
the batons, fists or boots of one
officer or another.
These officers may think that
such actions are condoned by
their superiors but I seriously
doubt that firing into a crowd
as in the case of the Batu Buruk
riots in 2006 would apply as
reasonable force.
While the inspector-general of
police and home minister have a
duty to protect their officers and
the agencies concerned, at the
same time, they are also con-
scious of the fact that the people’s excessive force was used on
well-being is paramount.
Thus, when their men act
out of line – as in the case of the – a report. There was no action
Bandar Mahkota Cheras incident
where two men were assaulted –
they are saddled with yet another
public relations nightmare. With
a critical and discerning public,
they would be hard-pressed to
explain the authorities’
sedate demeanour
during street protests
and demonstrations
by members of or af-
filiated to the ruling
coalition.
This is because
the public will draw
during demonstrations
by non-card carrying
members of particular organisa-
tions or political parties.
If indeed the enforcement
agencies are biased, they should
realise that their actions are do-
ing no favours to their perceived
political masters – what more
with a by-election around the
corner, where the presence of
the men in blue and their coun-
terparts in green would be very
visible.
How the government and the
police react to the Suhakam re-
port will be important in gauging
the authorities’ attitude towards
public perception and the well-
being of the rakyat.
Suhakam after all is regarded
as a toothless tiger, whose an-
nual report is not even tabled
in Parliament. If its findings are
not acted upon, it merely justi-
fies its critics’ assertion that the
commission is a mere cosmetic
exercise to facilitate favourable
rankings in the global human
rights index.
Case in point: Suhakam’s
2007 report which held that
price hike demonstrators outside
KLCC in 2006 remains just that
by those concerned and the
same allegations – supported by
photographic evidence continue
to dog the authorities.
So, at the end of the day,
the ball is in the court of the
TELLING IT AS IT IS
Acting Editor-in-Chief: Chong Cheng Hai
Consultant Editor: Zainon Ahmad
Executive Editor: Lee Boon Siew
Deputy Editor: Patrick Choo (Production),
Editor: R. Nadeswaran (Special Reporting)
enforcement agencies. Due to
their overwhelming numbers,
power and influence, any reform
or attempt to repair their image
will depend on their willingness
to wake up to the fact that they
need a serious makeover, as well
as political will and courage by
those in charge of overseeing
their powers.
The fact that the prime
minister’s attempts to set up the
Independent Police Complaints Porn
and Misconduct Commission
(IPCMC) faced strong opposition industry
strengthens the general view seeks
that enforcement agencies are bailout
a law unto themselves. If this is
true, even efforts to battle graft pg 20
within the agency will be an
uphill task.
While our police force may be
cepat and betul, Terence hopes
they will also be a little more
mesra when dealing with peace-
ful assemblies. He is deputy editor
(special reports & investigations)
and can be reached at terence@
thesundaily.com.
Give commuters a say
I WAS happy to read “Open discussion
on Klang Central terminal” (Dec 8) where
it was reported that the Selangor Mentri
Besar had initiated an open discussion
among all stakeholders on the issues
surrounding the relocation of bus serv-
ices to the Klang terminal.
The stakeholders invited to attend the
meeting, include bus and taxi operators,
traders, the terminal concessionaire,
and the wakil rakyat. I do not see any
representatives of commuters. If this is
the case, the commuter can add another
disappointment to an already long list.
The commuters are the most impor-
tant stakeholders in public transport. It is
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Let’s have it clean
and fair
WHILE the events at Gaza Strip
have got all of us awakened and
seething with anger, it could also
be deemed a distraction to what
the Malaysians have got their
antennas fixed on – the Kuala
Terengganu by-election. By no
means is this just another elec-
tion to fill a vacancy in the Dewan
Rakyat. It’s much more than that.
The stakes are much higher for
both the contenders. Hence, it
is not surprising that the ante
has been upped and has drawn
big guns from both sides of the
divide in the campaigning.
As it happens when cam-
paigning becomes intense, the
methodology used in garnering
votes knows no bounds. There-
fore, it is inevitable for candidates
and their campaigners to throw
caution to the wind and use all
possible ways to win the hearts
and minds of the people.
This is where the danger
lies. When rules of fairness are
discarded, there is bound to
be conflict. When one side hits
below the belt, the other tends
to respond. When one side bends
letter
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our use of the service and the ringgit that
we pay that makes the difference be-
tween the success and failure of bus and
taxi operators and terminal projects. And
yet, it seems that the other stakeholders
continue to forget the importance of the
commuters whenever they make plans
or try to resolve issues.
The Association for the Improvement
of Mass-Transit, Klang Valley, is working
to present a united voice for commuters.
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thesun says
the rule, the other makes an at-
tempt to break them. That is why
we all the more need some sense
and semblance of decency.
All parties must remember
that at all times that they should
not resort to name-calling;
personal attacks and abstain
from using race and religion for
politics. While it is understandable
(because of at least one religion-
based party) that never has there
been a thick line between politics
and religion, extra caution needs
to be exercised in this instance.
While some statements can be
dismissed by certain quarters
as political rhetoric, there is
still a large majority which can
differentiate between political
propaganda and public policy.
It is hoped that all parties
involved will uphold the principle
of fairness and make attempts
to contain themselves during the
campaigning period. Let it be a
clean election fought on issues
and policies without touching
on sensitive issues which would
cause unnecessary tension and
fear among the public.
Our group members have a plan for pub-
lic transport improvements in the Klang
Valley. We have shared that plan with
the other stakeholders (those whom we
could contact) because we believe in the
free flow of information and ideas.
Sadly, our contributions, concerns and
ideas are dismissed again and again by
the other stakeholders who are claiming
to act in the public interest.
I appreciate the efforts of the mentri
besar to resolve this issue but I must
humbly say that this issue will never be
resolved unless the commuters become
stakeholders, valued equally with the bus
operators and the government.
Moaz Yusuf Ahmad
Subang Jaya