Firmness without justice or manners

By Hafiz Yatim
Jul 10, 11 | MalaysiaKini

COMMENT The motto for the Royal Malaysian Police Force is Tegas (Firmness), Adil (Just), and Berhemah (Well-mannered) But was it practised in its crackdown on the Bersih 2.0 demonstrators yesterday?

There is much mention over the Inspector General Standing Orders (IGSO) which is under the Official Secrets Act. But were such guidelines employed by the force?

Witnessing the event live on the field among the demonstrators and law enforcement officers, I have to say I have my doubts over the manner and professionalism as to how our police reacted in handling such a pressure cooker situation!

There is no doubt there are those in the police who follow the rule book.

But to see some of the “ruffian” officers kicking, punching and roughing up the demonstrators before arresting them, makes you anxious when you think a future inspector general of police or state police chief could be among them.

Or will the police internal inquiry or even the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) Inquiry see disciplinary action taken on these officers?

IGP Ismail Omar today immediately denied reports over the “extent of force” used and cited they were provoked. The question is, are the police not “professional” enough to handle provocation?

Ismail also denied the police shot at the Tung Shin Hospital, which is certainly a no-no as a place to attack or use force, whether in times of war or peace.

However, eyewitnesses and a Malaysiakini video showed otherwise.

Even Suhakam commissioner Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah condemned the police for compromising the safety and health of the public by firing tear gas into the Tung Shin compound.

Will such unprofessional practices continue after this rally?

Such lingering questions remained in the minds of the rakyat as to how can the public maintain their trust or support on the force if they are continuously being seen to be abusing their task of maintaining security not in a well-mannered way as stated in their motto.

Professionalism in question

Four days before the rally Kuala Lumpur and Selangor police were reported to have seized machetes, Molotov cocktails, Bersih 2.0 t-shirts and fireworks during operations in Gombak, Selangor and three locations in Kuala Lumpur.

Brandishing new machetes and bottles containing inflammable liquid to the press, the police chiefs of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur were quick to point out a possible link to Bersih although there were no arrests made in the seizure.

This resulted in PAS questioning the weapons link two days later in a police report by its Supreme Council member Mazlan Aliman and PAS Selangor Youth information chief Shahrom Daud.

Following this, the police set up roadblocks on roads into Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, citing the discovery of the weapons as justification, resulting in massive traffic jams.

Yesterday’s demonstrations saw police starting their night by searching in some of mostly booked hotels in Kuala Lumpur looking for those in the list of 91.

As some of the supporters trickled into the city from outside Kuala Lumpur, there were already signs of strong police presence during the road closures and in tourism related spots like KL Sentral, the national mosque, Puduraya, and Dataran Merdeka.

They were not allowed in although some tourists who were oblivious of the situation were allowed to pass through, raising questions whether tourists or foreigners have more rights than citizens?

Unlike in the past where most of the action took place near the vicinity of the National Mosque, yesterday’s demonstrations saw much more happening in Pudu and the KL Sentral area.

Those locations saw the brunt of the police action. A crowd of more than 10,000 of various races marching in Pudu only were met by water cannons and tear gas.

Similar drama was also seen at transport hub KL Sentral as police fired tear gas as soon as opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, PAS Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP’s Lim Kit Siang were spotted with Bersih 2.0 chairperson, Ambiga Sreenevasan.

Anwar’s security detail Fayat Al Bakri and PAS Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad were injured. The the opposition leader was not spared either, when they tried to leave KL Sentral and into a tunnel only to be shot at by a police tear gas unit.

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, also the Lembah Pantai MP, questioned the motive of the firing as there were no proper warning given for the estimated 1,000 in the entourage to disperse and the riot squad firing the gas canisters not at trajectory level but directly aiming at the crowd.

Taxpayers money well spent?

Was the money of taxpayers spent well in seeing the desired level of professionalism in the police force after 54 years of independence? Mind you, Malaysia is a member of the prestigious United Nations of Human Rights Council, until 2013.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had in a statement released last night, commended the police action on Bersih whom he claimed was forwarding the agenda of Pakatan Rakyat rather than seeking electoral reforms.

However, how is one to explain the worldwide support for Bersih 2.0’s call for electoral reforms spanning the globe from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the United States.

Are they Pakatan supporters who had gathered peacefully overseas or simply Malaysians living overseas, who strongly believe there should be electoral reform?

Also it could be instructive for our men in blue when someone from Melbourne (right) and Hong Kong commends the police for allowing peaceful demonstrations at the respective embassies and consulate.

In Hong Kong, Brandon Tan reported the Malaysian police could learn from their counterparts there as they guided them as they marched through the city.

The Public Services Department director-general Abu Bakar Abdullah issued a circular dated June 30, barring civil servants from attending any of the rallies, and it also went further to remind that the civil service is neutral and does not support any movement or political party.

However, the concept of neutrality in the civil service or ‘adil’ (just) as in the police force motto is certainly brought in disrepute with some questionable actions taken by the men in blue.

Questions remain on whether the force followed the much touted IGSO directive in curbing the protests.

Could the public be blamed to question whether such high-handed actions that saw 1,667 protesters arrested comprising 1500 men, 151 women and 16 children, according to the police Facebook be under scrutiny, as it could be the largest number of arrests made so far, in an illegal rally.

It is also interesting to note there are quite a number of police personnel exercising restraint in their actions on the protesters who came from all walks of life, all races, and from all over the country to the capital.

Probably they realised these protesters are merely citizens and taxpayers, who are here to assert their rights and not criminals whom the force should be addressing.

Although the protest started out as seeking electoral reform, the next target could well be to seek a revamp of the police force and a renewed effort to push for the implementation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission.

Out of the three words in the motto of Tegas, Adil and Berhemah, one stands out more yesterday, that is Tegas (firmness) to describe the actions of the police.