by Theleaders-Online | July 18, 2019 2:53 am
Policemen often appear when we hold street protests to draw attention to bad behaviour, bad policies or bad laws. Often an officer with high rank will urge us to disperse and threaten use of force if we do not disperse.
When the officer issues a threat, someone will start chanting “abang polis.” All who wish to be counted as protesters will join in.
Abang (Malay) means “older brother,” It does not mean “big brother” in the Orwellian sense of spy or bully. Abang signals a man who is responsible for other family members. It is a term of honour.
When we chant “abang polis,” we show we believe the job of a policeman is to do good. Our chant shows we believe policemen are squeezed in the narrow space between peaceful protesters and officers who either itch to use force or are under orders to use force. We show it’s a moral stand-off.
Why are some policemen liars or torturers or murderers? This is not an idle question.
Public inquiries by the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) and the Human Rights Institution of Malaysia (Suhakam), have confirmed that some policemen have used excessive force – leading to death – while apprehending and interrogating suspects they arrested.
Last week, Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (CAGED) circulated the names of eight policemen. Their testimonies at the Suhakam Inquiry into the disappearances of Amri Che Mat and Raymond Koh shows that policemen altered, fabricated and withheld evidence.
CAGED listed five cases of probable misconduct in three cases of serious crime. CAGED suggested that the police never investigated their own.
Neither Inspector General of Police (IGP) Datuk Seri Hamid Bador nor Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin challenged what CAGED said. By their silence, the IGP and Home Minister condone misconduct.
I first learned the word “condone” when, as a young supervisor in a factory, I attended training about domestic inquiries.
In a domestic inquiry, a person is charged with misconduct. If found guilty, he can be punished. One of the ways the accused can defend himself is to plead condonation.
If the accused can show that the misconduct of which he is accused has been “accepted” for long by the employer, he has shown “condonation” by the employer. He cannot be found guilty.
By their silence, the IGP and the Home Minister have shown that even “abang polis,” at the highest levels condone misconduct. Why?
I can suggest a few reasons.
First, police as legalised mafia. The wrong people are hired. This is partly because “good guys” don’t want to join the force and partly because sadistic “bad guys” join the force in order to hurt others without fear of prosecution.
Second, no weed removal. Police training schools don’t weed out bad guys.
Third, poor investigation skills. The quality of investigation is so poor that very few who are investigated are charged in court. Worse, many who are charged go free due to weak evidence or poor prosecution.
Fourth, poor role models. Policemen who are fresh out of training schools are not assisted to deal with the moral challenges of police work. The truth, which most people don’t know or won’t admit, is that policing is very difficult work. I will leave discussion of this to a future post.
Fifth, conditioning. Exposure to constant dehumanizing of suspects immunizes policemen. They become unable to see suspects as potentially innocent and fellow officers as potentially guilty. Making suspects wear orange jumpsuits and taking them barefoot to hearings signals dehumanization.
Sixth, weak management of allegations. The Malaysian police don’t publish any data on allegations. Conversely, the police forces in England and Wales reported, for 2016/17, that they “finalised” 60,249 allegations, of which 42% ended in explanation or apology and that 44% required further investigation. Those were internal investigations conducted by officers within the police force; 590 cases were handled as external cases by IOPC, the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
In Malaysia, even in the face of evidence of misconduct by at least five officers – gathered by the National Human Rights Institution, Suhakam, during public hearings about the disappearances of Amri Che Mat and Raymond Koh – the government and the police refuse to take action.
Why are some “abang polis” liars, torturers and murders? Because the government lacks the political will to do what is so obviously necessary.
By Rama Ramanathan
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of The Leaders Online
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