Police Report, everyone!

October 14, 2010

The Latest Craze in BolehLand: Making Police Reports

by AB Sulaiman @www.malaysiakini.com

COMMENT: Not too long ago Helen Ang, a regular contributor to Malaysiakini and actively involved with CPI (Centre for Policy Initiatives), was called in by the police.

Apparently some concerned citizens had launched a police report stating that she had made some derogatory remarks about Islam and the Agong.

The police wanted her to respond to this. So, at the appointed time she went to the station with her lawyer. While there her lawyer cautioned her not to make any statement for the police might capitalise on whatever is said by her.

“Keep mum” might have been the words used by her lawyer, “for the police might have no clue as to why the report has been made in the first place.” True enough, Ang (left) did keep mum, and did not answer to any of the questions the police might have posed to her.

Then, Nurul Izzah Anwar, a young MP, challenged Ibrahim Ali to a debate on Article 153 of the constitution. Ibrahim Ali was too chicken to take the challenge, not that we don’t know it. And guess what, he had Perkasa launch a police report against her.

Then again, take the case of Teo Nie Ching, an MP who visited a surau to foster closer relationship between her and her constituency. Apparently she wanted to give some donations to deserving members of her constituency. For her trouble a police report was made by some quarters.

A lawyer familiar with the case, Gobind Singh Deo, another MP, was vexed by this absurd case. According to him the police could not even tell Teo and him what sort of offences Teo was being investigated for.

“When I asked them, they simply said a police report was lodged against Teo (left). But they could not answer me why they were asking for Teo’s statement. If a complaint or police report doesn’t form the basis of any criminal charge, the police shouldn’t look to her for answers. That’s ‘fishing’ for a case, which isn’t allowed,” said Gobind, according to a report in a news portal.

It appears there is a popular game hitting Bolehland. It’s called ‘Hi ho! I launched a police report today’.

Yet another of this game took place just a few days ago. BTN Deputy Director Hamim Husain lodged a police report against a news portal and one of its journalists over an article that claimed that he had uttered racist remarks. So these days if you want to be counted, play this game and enjoy the latest craze!

Popularising the game

I wish to put up a hypothesis as to why this hi-ho police report game is popular. It is to me because of the following framework that has been devised, moulded and perfected by the Ketuanan Melayu leadership and government:

i. Develop a civil service and all government agencies like the military and the police, customs and immigration that are wholly ‘pro-Malay’. This has been done easily when as much as 85 percent or more by people of the Malay ethnic stock running the shop. Malays are polite and subservient people, so they are easier to control;

ii. Develop an ideology that centres on race and religion to support (i) above. “Untuk agama, bangsa dan negara” suits perfectly;

iii. Create an environment and legal system where saying things against race and religion (and the royalty) is considered an offence. The Sedition Act is a good example; it is sure to be an effective weapon to combat critics of (ii);

iv. Mould a judiciary that will go for the person, not for the principles of the law;

v. By virtue of (i) the police would tend to follow (iv);

vi. Make the Malays think they are of a superior race. Tell him his ‘sopan santun‘ and ‘budi bahasa‘ are world renowned; it never fails;

vii. Make Islam as the exclusive religious truth. Make the people think that thinking and believing otherwise is a definite ticket to Hell;

viii. Indoctrinate everybody about the truth and wisdom of (vi) and (vii). It looks like the Biro Tata Negara is doing well here. The ulama is there to lend a hand in any case;

ix. Tell the people the Malays need help and must continue to need help from the government. Continue to highlight the low confidence of the Malays. Don’t tell them the contradiction with (vi) and (vii);

x. Tell the Malays they have special ‘Malay rights’ enshrined in the constitution. Don’t tell them the words are actually ‘special position’ and include some provisos;

xi. Tell people that the non-Malays are determined to wrest power from the Malays;

xii. If at all (xi) succeeds then make the Malays believe they will disappear from the face of the earth; and,

xiii. Finally (maybe), intimidate everybody who refuse to adhere to those points above with actual threatening legal punishment and penalties. The ISA is the grand daddy on this point. It can put you into oblivion without so much as a simple legal charge!

No proof required

I am not against anybody making police reports. This must surely be one of the fundamental rights of any person in a working democracy. My grouse is that a police report should be made in what I’d call genuine or bona fide cases, i.e. cases where the complainant can produce facts and figures, evidence and proof to support his report. In other words, the elements of transparency, responsibility, accountability and integrity must be present at all time.

In this country ,however, I can see that a report can be made at the flimsiest of reasons. If Ibrahim Ali’s report on Nurul Izzah (right) is not flimsy, I don’t know what is.

So it can easily be abused, especially by politicians and some religious adherents wishing to shine. In the latter situation any person can make a police report for ‘insulting Islam’. Nobody knows whatever that means.

Either way, the complainant can manufacture any complaint without any strong evidence and proof, any strong case, like in the numerous illustrations above.

He knows come what may the police will pay attention. He is really not too worried, and thus not really accountable and responsible for his statements.

He knows the police will be on his side, and he knows whenever the case gets into the courts, (the understanding is that) the judges would tend to be on his side as well.

The complainant, in other words, hides behind the might of the police force for support. Yes, he is hiding under the principle of ‘might is right’ of public institutions.

But the word ‘abuse’ is really not the main reason for my distaste of this popular hi-ho game. The sadder point is that almost all of those thirteen points above are principally myths and can be debunked one after another.

Item (ix) for example (stating the Malays continue to need help) is most debatable as indeed has been debated many times over. I shall not enter into it again, not this time around anyway.

Who are the losers?

I just would like to know who actually gains in this high stakes game.It’s not the generic Malay segment of the population, as indicated by the country’s Gini coefficient, popularised by Dr Lim Teck Ghee (right) some two years or so back.

This index measures income inequality, where 0 denotes total equality and 1 total inequality. Datuk Dr Richard Leete (Resident Representative of the UNDP) pointed out that Malaysia has the highest Gini coefficient in Asia at 0.46, with the bumiputera communities being the worse. They have the highest intra-ethnic income differential of all ethnic groups in Malaysia.

It’s the people taking advantage of the simpleminded Malays who benefit most. These are the very same people who have moulded and perfected a race- and religion-based country and government and are reaping untold billions from the Treasury; this done under the noses of the people.

And do the Malays care? No they don’t, for they don’t know that they don’t know. Do the leaders care? They don’t either for the going has been so good for them, and in any case the police and judiciary are on their side!

Who suffers the most? This question is easy to answer. It is the people, the generic Malaysian community who deserve the best but somehow get the worse.

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