The Malaysian Insider headline “Understand cops, IGP tells public” sums up what the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan has to say on TV3 last night.
I would be the first to agree with him, and this is the reason why I had consistently advocated and supported improvement in the wages and working conditions of the Malaysian police force in my four decades in Parliament.
But can the IGP fathom that the Police must understand the public who want to have an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service singled-mindedly focused on three core functions: to keep crime low, to eradicate corruption and to uphold human rights – the very words used by the Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission in its report released in May 2005?
Musa said: “The people must understand that if there was a police road-block, they must stop and not ram into a road-block. By doing so, police will become suspicious, because they might be criminals or drug traffickers or they just want to run away from the law.”
Musa said police would act according to the law when handling such situations, including using deadly force, when trying to defend themselves (police) or others.
He said: “We will take action based on our justification. If there was justification for action and for the use of force when carrying out our duties, we will do it. But during investigations, if we come across an individual using excessive powers, we may recommend such individuals to be charged in court.”
Musa has completely avoided the question uppermost in the minds of all Malaysians, i.e. how the police could shoot-to-kill a fleeing 14 year-old Form III student Aminulrasyid Amzah some 100 metres near his Shah Alam home in the early hours of April 26 though driving his sister’s car without licence and underaged?
The standard response that the police couldn’t know whether the driver of the car was teen or thug is not acceptable because the police were not under any form of threat to life, as whether visible or not, Aminulrasyid was “fleeing” and not endangering the life of any policeman.
Furthermore, can Musa explain why, despite possessing all the full facts, he publicly asked for an inquest into the killing of Aimulrasyid and had to be overruled by the Attorney-General who decided to initiate prosecution against one police officer?
Yesterday, a police report was lodged by Port Klang operator, 25-year-old Sharil Azlan Ahmad Kamil, who was shot at a roadblock in Shah Alam in April last year.
The Port Klang Northport worker said the bullet slug, which hit his arm and penetrated his ribcage, remains lodged close to his spine. He said doctors told him there was a high risk of him being paralysed if surgery is performed to remove the slug.
Sharil, who lodged the report at the Shah Alam district police headquarters yesterday, said he was driving back home to Kapar with a friend after a drink at a restaurant in Section 7, Shah Alam at about 12.30am on April 16, 2009 when he came across a police roadblock.
Realising his road tax had expired, he said he panicked and pulled over to evade the police.
Sharil alleged that two plainclothes policemen armed with sticks approached them and on seeing this he turned off at a lane. He said he then heard at least three gunshots fired and he and his friend ducked inside the car to avoid the shots.
However, the last gunshot which went through his car door hit him.
He said the policemen approached them and ordered them to step out of the car at gunpoint. Sharil said a policeman also smashed the front passenger’s window. He then dragged his friend out through the window.
“I asked them who they are and they did not answer but asked me why I was trying to run. I told them my road tax had expired. I begged him to call an ambulance as I had been shot and was in terrible pain.
“Another police officer in uniform told me to be patient and an ambulance only arrived an hour later. I was also accused of carrying drugs, ” he said.
He said he was taken to the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital where he was warded in the intensive care unit and the following day transferred to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL).
“A policeman turned up at the HKL and offered me RM200 for my medical bills but my mother turned it down. The next day two officers came over and recorded my statement and asked me if a parang found in my car was mine. I denied it. The officers also assured me that they will take action against the policemen involved if it is found that they were trying to ‘fix’ me”, he said.
Sharil said his father had also lodged a police report on the same day of the incident but to date, no action has been taken against the policemen.
Sharil’s account sounds very familiar in cases of police abuses of firearms and reminds Malaysians of Aminulrasyid’s case.
Why was no action taken by the police for more than a year on the police report lodged by Sharil’s father ?
How can cases of police reports about police shootings in (i) Shah Alam and (ii) the country had been lodged and how percentage of these reports had been investigated and what is their outcome?
Can Musa provide answers to these questions?
Can Musa explain why in the four years he was IGP, public confidence in the police have reached such a low ebb that instead of being the protector of the public, Malaysians have come to fear policemen as never before in the history of the police force?
Or as one twitter-visitor on my twitter put it:
“Who will understand the civilian? When we civilian c Police we r supposed to feel safe but all this time we feel the other way!”
Will the IGP try to understand the public and agree to a public inquiry into all police shootings, fatal as well as those which did not lead to deaths, from 2005 now that there is another police report lodged by port worker Sharil Azlan?
Furthermore, as a parting contribution to the restoration of public confidence in the police and the establishment of a new chapter in police-public relations, will he spearhead a movement for the establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), as proposed by the Police Royal Commission headed by a former Chief Justice and a former Inspector-General of Police?
When I read his statement, the question I asked is does HE understand his job? Given his track record of lobbying for contracts while on the job, increasing crime rate, and flimsy excuses especially on Amirul case, does he even understand that when he put up the question he did, the reflex action will be to ask him if HE understand his job.
Seriously, I don’t think he understand his job even in giving excuses for the power may be or his failures. It seems all he is good for is behaving like a stubborn bull not much else. The last thing anyone else need to fix anything or trying to go foward is a thick headed self-deluding head cop
For one thing, he became unfit to be IGP when he threatened to pull the cops off the streets.
In a way that irresponsible comment of his is equivalent to the PM’s RM5mil bribery offer to the voters of Sibu
//…two plainclothes policemen armed with sticks approached them and on seeing this he turned off at a lane. //
Sharil recognized them as policemen and yet he ran. All because his road tax has expired. Surely he knows that he was risking his miserable life by running because the police had no way of knowing that his “crime” was an expired road-tax.
Carry mattress = No.1
Talk cock also No. 1
Sooner or later all the polish dogs become like him.
yes, a malaysian polis job is not so easy when it comes to suspected criminals but i’m trying very hard to understand why it always lead to 100% DEATH (bulls-eyes) on the victims when they start using their guns . is it becuase they are purely trained good-shooters or is it they want the person dead so that no suspected querries arise.
there are so many ways to dis-engage a suspect like by shooting at his legs/hands, right ?? at least this way, the suspect lives !!!
i wonder the igp and all the polis who thinks shooting a person to death is the correct way and giving excuses that its self defence ever wonder that the living person also has had a mother who gave birth to just like them !!!!
in my opinion, the polis should start training to shoot at hand and legs or at the wheel of the cars of the suspect from now on !!! if they can’t do it, better they go back to sticks and rods because they REALLY CAN’T HANDLE THEIR GUNS PROFESSIONALLY !!!
PDRM has notched up a terrible record of shooting to kill suspects without knowing whether the said suspects were armed and known dangerous criminals.
The worst part is when invariably a parang, drugs or some other illegal things are found in the suspect’s car. Since the suspect is already dead and account for his evasive actions how can the layman trust the police that the dead person was armed with a parang or he tried to ram into the policemen?
Even in Sharil Azlan’s case the police asked him whether the parang found in his car belonged to him. Why is always a parang? Is it because the police has a ready cache of parangs and other dangerous objects to be planted as evidence for their blatant trigger happy behaviour.
The police should be hence forth trained not to use brutal and excessive force (no bashing up suspects until death such as in Kugan’s case) in their attempt to curb criminal activities.
PDRM should engage the services of psycologist, psychiatists and police personnel from countries that have a good record of crime prevention if it cannot find suitable trainers in the country.
Aptitude and attitude towards police work is just not enough to be inducted into the police force. The potential policeman must also be not psychotic, sadistic and above all he must be humane and cherish human values.
Before we can make changes to the PDRM for a better Malaysia, we really need to change the government.
The BN government has ruled for more than 50 years and all the vital state institutions like the PDRM do not primarily serve the rak’yat but the ruling party.
Police behaviour nowadays is akin to those of thugs. They use excessive force, bully or intimidate suspects. They do not find out the background of suspects before they act.
Everyone rounded up at the vicinity of a crime is considered a prime suspect and they are brutalised until they give the expected response, satisfactory to the police.
The public is in a quandary. The chances are if they stop, they may be bashed up. If they do not stop, their relatives might find them in a mortury.
To compound the problem the IGP and CPOs make spontanious statements in favour of the police officers involved whenever there is death due to police action. They don’t stop at that but try to justify police brutality or even custodial deaths by insinuating the suspect deserved what he got.
They are prone to shooting off their mouth first without investigating every aspect of an incident. If the idea is to boost the morale of the police force, they are sadly mistaken. It only empowers the rogues in the police force to be more brazen in their actions.
If the IPCMC had been implemented, the police force would have become more transparent and accountable in their actions. It would also bring about a sense of fairplay, intergrity, efficency and professionalism in their day to day work.
The PDRM needs to reform for the better if it is to be respected as a credible force. It should become people friendly instead of becoming the errand boys of corrupted politicians.
aiyah…waste of time to keep exposing IGP in name….but in fact he is Najib’s bodyguard and protector…and nothing he does will ever get Najib to saying anything to offend him.’he protects Najib….Najib protects him.
Only way…change the government or live with it.
i better quit my job and start selling parang next to police station….this one and the Amirul one have similar element, police open fire because they saw a parang in the car boot as the car was being driven at night
whatever
Elsewhere in the world, if a cop is being investigated, he has to surrender his badge and his weapon. Until the law says that he is not guilty. Video tape will be one of the evidences. That officer concerned will be ordered to take leave. If a station can be located at a red light area, you can just imagine the degree of crime. If there is a KPI, it will just be a bull shine KPI. Oh yes ! There is a KPI and it was posted up somewhere for the public to see and read. KPI with no standard. No ! KPI with human weakness’ standard. Malaysians still think that out of the rotten apples, there is still one, two or three good apples. Should two stars be taken away from the five stars ?
Police is one of the Disciplinary Forces which should include the Military, MACC, Customs, etc.. They are there to enforce the Laws for the Order of the Society or country. Therefore, they are to be under certain Code of Practice. Such as the Rules for setting up Road Block in this case, their Identification, Rules and Procedures in carrying out their duty. There should also be procedures how to start questioning Suspects, or, conditions of using Arms and How.
THE PROBLEM IS THEY ARE SO USED TO BULLY AND IGNORE THE PROPER PROCEDURES. In this case, even ignored to identify themselves when asked. Whereas they should be the one to decline their identity before even stopping the Suspect. Any such ignorance will put them in a road of no return in any legal or disciplinary procedures if Laws are Laws!!
The Police in question should already be under internal disciplinary proceeding, such as suspension of duty and to be further investigated.
Any of these should be in written documents OPENED to the public???
In the last Shah Alam case, IGP had declined to provided and so did the Home Minister!!
KUP/AG (Attorney General Chamber should be the one pressing for Police Investigation Report for each and every Police Report made. The Police has no Rights to decline any investigation or decide if not to take action. In Malaysia, KUP/AG care less to press Police for their Job and Police in many case puff the People to Refer to Magistrate and case closed!!
To take a case for illustration, the Penang Lawyer Assaulting Clients Case – A good example of Abuse of Rights and Procedures, not only the Police but the KUP and AG!!
———————–
1. One client was pushed backward to fall off the stair case and fainted, another one with head blown with an object and bled. The Police did not go to the site even after calls to the Police. The victims has to go to the nearby Police Station and then to Pantai Head Quarter. Even the victims wanted to write their own Police Report, the Inspector had made his and then translated to the victims. He also said it was not necessary to sign before he can submit to his supervisor for an order to take action in the next morning.
2. According to the nature of such assaulting under the law, the Police should has arrested the Lawyer, taking statement and go through other procedures, such as sending the lawyer for psychological check up. and passed to the AG to start the Prosecution.
Photos of the event were taken by the lawyer’s son and also by one of the victim. The site was under CCTV and neighbors of the law firms were watching.
3. The case was classified as assaulting. The Superintendent of the Investigation said the Investigation Report was with KUP/AG, but, both denied to have received. And, later on silent despites of repeated reminders to ALL!!
The Police said they cannot find the son to give the order. The Police had not confirmed that they had taken the statement from the Lawyers nor the staffs, nor, witness that were in the Photos.
THIS IS THE WAY OF HOW THE POLICE WORK ON A POLICE REPORT WITH CRIMINAL OFFENSE, INCLUDING CHEATING!!
A lot of these are under the Criminal Code!!
They should be Bibles for the Police, KUP and AG!!
They simply PUFF the victims!! Abuse the Rights of the People, Ignore their Duty and Jobs!!
Before the event, the Police were on calls by the Lawyer to chase the clients out in TWO separate instances when the Lawyers refused to provide a copy of job the Lawyer pretended to have finished. The other instance was when the lawyer refused to confirm by writing an Appointment to finish the discharge procedure of the Lawyer by the other client!!
Only in Malaysia, they can be called Police/KUP/AG with Code of Practice or Criminal Codes hiding in the Hand of the Enforcement with Abuses and Manipulations!!
WHO DARE TO SAY A WORD?
The Politicians, the Penang State Officials, Malaysiakini, the newspaper?
The silent of all and the broken of Justice in the Judiciary system had led to more victims to come!!
The Lawyer was advanced with Deposit of 20,000 but do no work and not attending even one court dates for the last 3 years!! He had discharged himself to the clients. Even Judges and Court Registrar promised to ask for his Application of Discharge as the Rules required, the Judges and Court Registrar failed to do so!!
THE POLICE CANNOT BE SO BAD IF THEY ARE NOT SPOILED BY THE KUP/AG, and the Public Media, ……LAW ARE WRITTEN TOYS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE THE POWER TO MANIPULATED!!
GET AND PUBLISHED THEIR CODE OF PRACTICE ON THE NET!!
How much Rules & Regulations they had abused!!
years back, my younger bro. was caught in a road bully case. report have been make. month after month, i tried calling the officer in charge. finally, i got him. he say, he found the person, but is waiting for the arrest warrant from the court. after months pastby, i did not receive any feedback. i tried contacting him many times. always out! finally i gave up!
If he is not a true racist good for nothing idiot..he cannot be chosen by Najib to be IGP.
LKS message is so clear for him to read and Malaysians hope truths sunk into his head.
But then…mistakes after mistakes…with .sickening excuses made .one after another…no turning back..for IGP.
It’s ass protections that counts….for all crooks…..hahahahahahaha
//Realising his road tax had expired..//
Why did the sight of a road block make him realize that his road tax has expired?
Surely when driving the car, he had passed by many police stations and policemen. Why didn’t he realize that his road tax has expired when he passed them?