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“CERTAINLY, the police had to put
up with much abuse and missiles,
although these were mainly plastic
bottles and sprayed beer and cider.
Certainly, some demonstrators were
bent on agro, but, then again, so were
some of the (police) officers… And
what does this mean for the future of
protesting? Does this mean that any-
one wanting to go on a demonstration
in the future needs to be prepared to
be detained for eight hours, photo-
graphed and identified?”
Surprisingly, the demonstration re-
ferred to in the above paragraph isn’t
the one against the Internal Security
Act (ISA) held in Kuala Lumpur on
Aug 1 but the mass protests against
the Group of 20 (G20) meeting of
world leaders on April 1 in London.
During the G20 demonstration, a
news vendor, Ian Tomlinson, died.
Written by Duncan Campbell,
this paragraph also spotlights the
dilemma that police in the United
Kingdom (and in other countries)
face – how to police public protests.
Tomlinson’s death, the London
police’s initial response and the UK
Tale of two street protests
government’s handling of
this issue reveal striking
similarities as well as
marked contrasts with
events in Malaysia.
First, the initial re-
sponse of the police and
other investigative institu-
tions, whether in the UK
or in Malaysia, to a loss of
life is often denial.
Initially, the London MakingSens
Metropolitan Police told
Tomlinson’s family the by Tan Siok Choo
news vendor had died of
natural causes – a view
challenged by footage from dozens of
digital cameras and mobile phones.
One video clip by a New York hedge
fund manager, broadcast by the
Guardian newspaper, showed Tom-
linson being hit by a police baton.
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Second, post mortems Altogether, there were four
conducted by two individ- reports on the G20 protests
uals can result in different – two by the police and two by
outcomes. Parliament – of which the most
The first post mortem noteworthy was by Her Majes-
identified the cause of ty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary
Tomlinson’s death as a (HMIC) whose motto is “Inspect-
heart attack. However, ing policing in the public inter-
a second post mortem est.”
established he had died of In the HMIC report, Denis
internal bleeding. Results O’Connor said police tactics had
of a third post mortem been far too focused on tackling
remain confidential, the violence rather than facilitating
BBC says. peaceful protests. The starting
A major difference is point for policing protests should
the UK authorities’ subse- neither be whether they were
quent response. The pathologist who lawful nor unlawful, but a pre-
conducted the first post mortem has sumption of facilitating peaceful
been suspended from the govern- activity, he added.
ment register pending two investiga- “What the review identifies is
tions into his professional conduct, an that the world is changing and
article in the Guardian says. the police need to think about
changing their approach to po-
licing protests. We live in an age
where public consent of policing
cannot be assumed and policing,
including public order policing,
should be designed to win the
consent of the public,” he said.
Similarly, the Metropolitan
Police Assistant Commissioner,
Chris Allison, acknowledged the
police have “clear duties under
the law to facilitate protest,
minimise the impact it has on
others and maintain peace on
our streets.”
What is commendable is
Allison’s order of his priorities
– it is the reverse of that often
expounded by his Malaysian
counterparts and by top political
leaders in this country.
Another notable report was
by the Joint Committee on Hu-
man Rights. Drafted by MPs and
peers in the House of Lords, the
report said the police became
letters
letters@thesundaily.com
Be wary of pneumonia
I REFER to concerns about Influenza
A (H1N1). My five-year-old son is a
chronic bronchitis sufferer.
We live in Kota Kemuning and
experience hazy conditions every
day. My son’s life is at stake.
And so are many other asthmatic
patients, chronic bronchitis patients,
young children with low immune
system, etc.
Each day I search all the news-
papers hoping to get some leads as
to how I can build as many defence
mechanisms as I can for my son.
And all I get is the feeling like I
am searching for answers in a dark
room, helpless and in despair.
One person recently gave me
an important lead and I am sharing
this with as many people as I can.
Not everyone who gets H1N1 gets
pneumonia but all who died of H1N1
had pneumonia.
So, we should focus on how we
can prevent pneumonia if we get
H1N1 not how to prevent H1N1.
For those in the high-risk group,
Use relief magistrates
A COURT sitting was postponed
recently because the magistrate
fell sick and had to go on medical
leave.
Such circumstances can be
hard to avoid. But can’t the judicial
authorities have relief magistrates
in such cases, to avoid unnecessary
postponements, wasting time and
resources.
We must also be mindful of others
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heavy-handed because they
lacked effective communication
with protesters.
Both protesters and police
must share information about
their plans for the demonstration,
added the joint committee report,
a suggestion that Malaysian
police and politicians would do
well to adopt as a crowd-control
strategy.
In keeping with Prime Min-
ister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s
vision of “1Malaysia, people first,
performance now”, the police
should adopt suggestions in these
UK reports that aim to make hu-
man rights the core of modern
policing.
Some may argue the Malay-
sian police’s tough approach
towards demonstrators is to pro-
tect the larger public, including
shopkeepers and city residents
adversely affected by mass pro-
tests.
The police should ask them-
selves two questions. Would the
public have benefited if the po-
lice had cracked down on dem-
onstrators against the proposed
Malayan Union in 1945?
Would the US civil rights
movement have succeeded – and
Barack Obama elected president
– if the Malaysian police had
been in charge when 250,000
protesters gathered in Washing-
ton in 1963 to hear Martin Luther
King make his “I have a dream”
speech in which he called for
racial equality?
In the aftermath of the March
2008 general election, the police
need to ponder whether they
are facilitators or a road block to
political progress.
Opinions expressed in this article
are the personal views of the writer
and should not be attributed to
any organisation she is connected
with. She can be contacted at
siokchoo.nsamail@gmail.com.
getting pneumococcal vaccinations
is one of the defence mechanism we
could use against dying from H1N1.
You might still get H1N1 but at least
you have a 30% lower risk of dying
from H1N1.
Studies have shown (see www.
latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-
pneumonia4-2009aug04,0,6872284.
story ) that 30% of H1N1 pneumonia
related deaths are due to Strepto-
coccus pneumoniae.
Getting yourself vaccinated
means you have eliminated 30% of
the possible risk of dying from H1N1
pneumonia.
Of course, that does not mean
you will not get H1N1 but at least
you will not die of it.
So if the government is serious
in preventing H1N1 deaths, it should
ensure that all those in the high-risk
group get pneumococcal vaccina-
tions.
Karen Lee Huey Shyan
Shah Alam
involved in the trial who are ready to
attend the hearing as scheduled. It
isn’t fair to them as they may have
had to travel long distances.
As they say justice must not only
be done but seen to be done. Can
we have some contingency plans for
such instances?
Bulbir Singh
Seremban