I refer to the report that a royal commission is to be set up to review the police force ( The Star, Dec 29).

For someone who has experienced police arrogance and brutality first hand, this is welcome news, and I hope that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will succeed in his quest "towards rehabilitating the image of the police force and restoring public confidence in it."

Recently, a family in Malacca had to endure the mental anguish of having their apartment raided at an ungodly hour by a group of policemen who claimed they were acting on a "tip off". According to a newspaper report, the police had reason to suspect that the abode was used to peddle drugs. When it turned out that the tip-off was a false alarm, the SAC himself offered an apology to the aggrieved.

But is an apology, even one that comes from the top, good enough? How do you undo the damage that has been done to the poor family? I'm sure the raid attracted the attention of the neighbours. I'm pretty certain the apartment was turned upside down in the search for evidence.

Given the seriousness of the situation (in this case the suspicion of peddling drugs), isn't the reassurance that such an unfortunate incident won't happen again be more appropriate?