Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Point Blank

A very appropriate headline. This is the the front page of the New Straits Times, 4 April 2006.
I guess the frustrations of the Inspector General of Police is felt by the public too. I doubt his speech would leave that much of a dent on the police force. An entrenched culture of so many negatives takes more than just a speech to rectify. It will take another IGP or two to see some improvements.
Why does this happen. A million dollar question. Most probably the causes are multi-faceted and the solutions would need a gargantuan effort from everyone interested in seeing a clean, efficient and trustworthy police force become the pride of the nation. I doubt again whether that will happen in my life time.
I wonder how the guilty ones sleep at night. Peacefully??? I guess so since there has been no let up in the number of incidents involving shady dealings between the police and public. I also wonder whether any thought comes to the minds of those black sheeps. I guess it is a sign of the times. We make the best use of whatever advantage that we have. However small or insignificant to others, the power held by the ordinary policeman is supreme in his area of jurisdiction. That power leaps to gigantic proportions when the particular constable is promoted. The rank that comes with the job and the knowledge that you can use it for your benefit. A heady proposition.

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