No, I do not pretend for a moment that I have all the answers. There is now a welcome Royal Commission to look into, investigate and make proposals to correct the "negative" public perception of the police force.

This is a step in the right direction. I must congratulate Pak Lah, our prime minister, for taking the sterling initiative which may not exactly be welcomed by certain quarters and entrenched groups. Of course, as my good and old friend MGG Pillai said , "it is a political minefield".

The correction is needed. It is long overdue. It is needed in the interest of the nation. We'll be damned if the Royal Commission is captured to sanitise the situation. We don't need that. There is no denying that corruption is rife in the police force.

In Penang, it is a well-known fact that if any of your relatives are remanded and you want to see them, you have to pay. I was shocked. But anyone in that predicament is told to buy seven packets of nasi kandar , seven big packets of Dunhill cigarettes and pay RM250 cash for a visit. Then, you get the red carpet or even royal treatment and see that relative in remand.

The impression given is that money can buy you royal treatment. I have even told a senior lawyer about this "institutionalised corruption" only to be told to lodge a complaint with the Public Complaints Bureau in the Prime Minister's Department.

This is utter nonsense. Corruption debases the dignity of both the bribe-giver and the bribe-taker. It dehumanises them and even their families who partake of the graft money. It is about time that we learn to treat Malaysians as Malaysians and respect each other, even in places such as these where the person remanded may even have done something wrong. Even if that is so, he is innocent until proven guilty.

MGG Pillai also advised: "You would be given the run-around if you go to the police to lodge a report. You must have infinite patience, and time on your hands or dollops of cash to speed your report making. On top of that, you are often abused, and made to wait. Try, even now, getting a copy of the police report for filing an insurance claim or whatever. It would be ages before you did - unless you typed the report and make copies before you go to the police station, pay the required fees and collect your copy duly signed by the station inspector. Bribery is not a word one discusses in police's company in Malaysia. 'Cari makan' is the right word to use. It is an art form."

That "art form" comment is unfortunately true. I have had the same experience of being given the run-around, even in Kuala Lumpur. But, of course, to be fair and without trying to curry any favour because I don't need any, I have also met good-serving officers in Penang who are out to help people in distress. And they are not looking for money. In fact, you will insult them if you give them any!

MGG also wrote: "The government shot itself in the foot, after the 1969 racial riots and the Malay insistence that they alone ruled, when it dismantled the multiracial services to recruit Malays [into] the armed forces, the police, the civil service, the statutory bodies, the universities."

That is again true. My Form Six classmate of 1968 had, with a full certificate, decided to join the police force as a cadet assistant superintendent of police. That was the qualification in those days. He was selected for the interview. He did not get the job. Why? The policy "to recruit Malays [into] the armed forces, the police, the civil service, the statutory bodies, the universities" was already in force.

So did he willy nilly become a victim of that policy? He was jobless for three long years and, despite writing to a lot of places, found his first job as a warden in Singapore. Two years on, he was given a government scholarship and he has not looked back. As I see it, Malaysia's loss was Singapore's gain.

MGG also wrote that "far more serious than corruption involving the public is the corruption within the force, where policemen and those of higher ranks in sensitive jobs could only be promoted if they pay a fee to a higher-up. This is of course denied. But in a number of cases involving high-ranking police officers who had far more money than they could possibly earn on the sweat of their brow."

That is again true. How unfortunate. I will just say this and this alone: to all the police officers out there, if you partake of this corrupt practice, you are helping to dig the very hole in which you will be buried. I have lived long enough to see this happen, not just in Malaysia but overseas. Trust me. I know what I am writing about.

There is nothing like earning the honest ringgit and living within that awesome constraint. It makes you and your family members, including your wife and children, much better persons and form their character as well. They will at least know how to value the little mercies that are sent our way.

The authorities can run a simple check of the properties held by top police officers, their wives and their other relatives. Start questioning how these were accumulated. There is a paper trial. And the truth will out.

My final plea: When all is completed, the Royal Commission will recommend, among other things, the setting up of a Police Complaint Bureau answerable to Parliament and Parliament alone. And please appoint new and fresh faces to his body and give them the power to oversee the workings of the police.