Darkest hour before a new dawn
MAGICK RIVER
Things have never looked so ugly since the May 13 massacre of 1969 orchestrated by an ambitious Malay nationalist faction of UMNO led by Razak Hussein, father of Najib Razak.
It is now clear that Malaysia has further deteriorated from a kleptocracy (a nation run by thieves) to a kakistocracy (a nation mismanaged by the vilest, most vicious, most venomous and violent elements). With the benefit of hindsight, we can see how the Polis Di Raja Malaysia (Royal Malaysian Police) was systematically co-opted (especially during Mahathir Mohamad’s 22-year reign) to serve the narrow interests of the ruling elite rather than the general public. Those of cynical bent will say, quite correctly, that all police departments on earth primarily exist to protect the vested interests of the ruling elite – not the ordinary citizen, whose function is to fund the scam by paying involuntary taxes – but it’s time to clean up the police, perhaps even delete the concept from the human imagination!
 |
| Muscle-brained Gestapoman |
Arbitrarily arresting anyone promoting the concept of Clean and Fair Elections – even charging a handful under the dreaded ISA for “trying to revive Communism and for waging war against the King” – the recently appointed deputy Inspector-General of Police, Khalid Abu Bakar, has conspicuously taken over from Ismail Omar, who appears more of a bureaucrat than a bully. When Khalid Abu Bakar was Chief Police Officer of Selangor, a large number of people died under gory circumstances.
Take the case of A. Kugan, a 22-year-old arrested on suspicion of involvement in a car theft sydicate, who was cruelly beaten to death in a police lock-up in January 2009. Khalid Abu Bakar immediately began lying about the circumstances of Kugan’s unnecessary death at the hands of uniformed sadists. A gentleman would have publicly apologized for this glaring instance of police misconduct and resigned.
 |
| Khalid Abu Bakar |
A few months later, there was a high-speed car chase in Shah Alam, which ended in 14-year-old Amirulrasyid Amzah getting a bullet in the back of his head for the crime of driving without a licence and panicking when he saw a police patrol car. Within months there was a spate of unexplained teenaged deaths at the hands of the police, all accused of being armed criminals, and all summarily executed with bullets through their heads fired at point blank range. Khalid Abu Bakar wasn’t asked to resign in those instances either.
Obviously, he was earning himself brownie points with the top crooks in UMNO as a potential high-ranking Gestapo Officer. They appreciate tough cops without moral scruples who know which side the bread is buttered.
There were many other alarming reports of citizens being harassed at roadblocks, arrested, robbed and beaten black-and-blue by police officers – and not a single case has been brought to justice. The big bosses in UMNO have covered the cops’ arses in every instance. Even in a case as gruesome and sensational as the cold-blooded abduction, torture and murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu in October 2006, the two policemen assigned to the dirty deed by Najib’s security chief were protected from public view because they were allowed by the judge to conceal their faces throughout the long-drawn and ludicrous trial.
 |
| Malay supremacy |
So the signs have all been there, ladies and gentlemen. Indeed, they have been there since the days when the Internal Security Act was abused, even by the generally benign Tunku Abdul Rahman, as an all-purpose weapon against political dissent. It may be argued that in primate politics, a savvy and strong leader must be prepared to don jackboots from time to time and stomp on serious threats to his leadership. That’s how Lee Kuan Yew retained control of his party and remained at the helm of Singapore for so many decades – indeed, many say he still has the final say from behind the scenes.
The use of police and army to suppress angry populations is nothing new – but there is a growing sense around the world that such repressive measures reflect negatively on those who wield them. It reveals that they have lost their legitimacy to lead.
