5 Mar 2009.

The police today announced that they would summon

the 28 state assemblymen for questioning on alleged suspicion
that they could be guilty of illegal public gathering.

However, there was no mention of the UMNO Youth mob who barged
into the Parliament grounds recently to physically intimidate
an opposition figure.

This latest disgusting double-standards stance by the police is

yet another dirty tactic in the modus operandi of the Malaysian
police to silence legitimate dissent in the country through very
despicable actions a la Germany's Gestapo Police.

The police had earlier physically prevented the assemblymen from

entering the state secretariat building and the assemblymen had
no choice but to conduct their meeting under a tree.

Thus it can be said that the police had set a trap for the people's
rightfully elected representatives and now they are being primed
for whatever action deemed suitable by the police.

Therefore the Malaysian police force of today is acting exactly

like their German counterpart of the nineteen thirties & forties.

Perhaps this is the latest trend in the so-called democractic

countries in the world today.

First, the police must not be neutral, they must side with the
people who are in power. Then they must do their utmost to put
any legitimate dissent into a state of fear by the constant worry
of getting arrested. Thirdly, let the common citizens protect
themselves, the police have better things to do. If the police
should ever come across criminals, just shoot them dead or beat
the daylights out of them once they got dragged inside.

Malaysia might not be alone in using this Gestapo approach, as

shown by the recent case of the police sheriff who attacked a
young female detainee inside a police cell in the US. What with
the global economic meltdown and the convict population growing
like wildfire, even Western nations needed their police to act
rough. And, definitely, the Malaysian police have been quick to
seize the chance and act likewise.

The recent case of the detainee who died while in police custody
raises many questions that have not been answered till today.
First he was said to have died because he was asthmatic. Only
after his family raised a storm was the true cause of death got
revealed. He had been severely assaulted and tortured, his body
bore signs of burnt marks and his vital organs in the end stopped
functioning. Scores of detainees have died while under police
custody last year but usually in such cases, their families much
preferred not to make noise and instead just accepted everything
as the work of fate.

The police here not only dispense summary justice to criminals

and crime suspects but lately, they are also showing a fondness
to do the same for the legitimate political dissent in the country.
WhAat is the use of holding elections and erecting the national
Parliament if the legitimately elected people's representatives
have to bow to the police while the ruling BN wallow in corrupt
practices and money politics and live it up to the fullest.

The police should stick to the job they were hired to do, that is
to keep the country safe from crime and to catch criminals, not to
torture or execute or to intimidate. The rising cases of wayside
robberies, rape cases and violent gang heists are very worrying and
the belief now is that the police have failed in their duty.

The police now need to wake up and not get involved in politics
but instead go out and conduct more street patrols, the more the
better. Stop being Gestapo. Win back the public confidence. Now.
Before things get even worse. It is still not too late yet.