IN recent days, the controversial shootings by a handful of cops at alleged criminal suspects have sparked a public outcry and severely dented the image of law enforcement in the country.First, a patrol policeman fatally shot a 14-year-old youth during a reported car chase in Shah Alam. Aminulrasyid Amzah died of an injury to the head and a 48-year-old cop has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Then in southern Negeri Sembilan, a police constable shot and wounded a 17-year-old motorcyclist, Mohd Azizi Aziz, in the hip for allegedly “weaving in front of the patrol car”. Preliminary investigations showed the PC had wanted to fire a warning shot but hit the victim instead.
The PC is currently under investigation “for failing to follow the standard operating procedure in the discharge of firearms”. The motorcyclist is said to be recovering in hospital after surgery.
In a third incident in Kuala Selangor, two policemen fired several shots at a former army commando who they said was trying to attack them with a ‘Rambo knife’.
The alleged assailant was not the only one to have caught a bullet. A Public Works Department (JKR) labourer was also hit in the crossfire in the third such shooting in as many weeks. S Surentiran suffered injuries to the rib cage but is said to be recovering in hospital. An investigation is underway while the policemen involved remain on duty.
After the fatal shooting of Aminulrasyid Amzah, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein — in an effort to explain that the whole force should not be pilloried because of the actions of a few in the rank and file — called on Malaysians to defend and not demonise the police.
He said demonisation does not help anyone, urging the public to instead support the police “as one of the institutional pillars forming the spine of the country”.
While the minister was defending the police in a talk to some 100 students at the Malaysian Students Department in London, another two shootings, involving the motorcyclist and the former army commando, grabbed the headlines at home.
The irony is not so much heightened public anger at perceived police trigger-happy tendencies than the minister’s defence of law enforcement being made to look more like an excuse than an assurance — no thanks to some of the men in blue he was trying to defend.
The shooting death of Aminulrasyid Amzah and the wounding of Mohd Azizi Aziz and S Surentiran at such short intervals have eroded public confidence in the police force, already saddled with negative perception over crime levels, custodial deaths and corruption.
Of course, under normal circumstances, we should defend the police. If the cops are doing a good job, they deserve every commendation but just as their exemplary behaviours and deeds must be acknowledged and rewarded, so must their mistakes be admitted and censured — not covered up – especially when they result in unnecessary loss of life.
There are outstanding men in uniform who exercise sound judgement and fair play in carrying out their duties but there are also errant cops — and it is these black sheep who must be weeded out, not protected under the pretext of demonisation.
The bad apples are the ones who give the force a bad name, not the public at large whose cooperation has frequently helped police put criminals behind bars.
It is not quite fair to say the public are unsympathetic when cops get shot. It would be fairer to ask what kind of cops are involved. Less we forget, there was an outpouring of sympathy (and anger at the killers) when a police station just outside Kuching was attacked and a police sergeant killed during the insurgency in the state.
Police heroism rarely fails to win public admiration. Indeed, our men in blue who live up to the
stringent ethics and codes of law enforcement in ensuring public order and security are held in high esteem.
Clearly, the system needs to be sorted out and something that works above the law cannot be condoned, especially by law enforcers themselves. It is not like the police are paid to do nothing. This much Home Minister has acknowledged.
The present outrage has little or nothing to do with women spreading fear with idle talks at hair salons. Rather, it’s greater awareness on fundamental and individual rights that necessitates a change in the way policing duties are executed.
Terengganu police chief Datuk Mohd Shukri Dahlan has reminded police personnel to use their weapons only in self-defence and in this, the cops must be adequately trained to tell a genuine self-defence situation from firing at random that would stigmatise them as trigger happy.
Mohd Shukri stressed the important role of the police is to protect the fundamental rights of the people. Indeed, few will have any reason to argue with such a reaffirmation from a top brass.