A peaceful protest in reaction to the petroleum price hike at the Petronas Twin Towers on Sunday turned ugly with the police kicking and beating protestors, firing water cannons at the crowd while at least 22 protestors were arrested - clear police brutality witnessed by hundreds of stunned shoppers.

It is quite surprising that the police have decided to tarnish their reputation once again, since assurances had been given by the Internal Security Ministry and the inspector-general of police that the police force had improved. The police are the custodians of the rakyat but with this new brutal incident, it speaks otherwise.

The police need to use their wisdom rather than brutality, since they are involving themselves with human behaviour. The act by the police on Sunday was really unwarranted. Rather than using tact, they had resorted to violence. The whole police force has come to shame, just because of a few.

The government needs to immediately take measures to ensure that this sort of unwarranted brutality by the police is stopped. It should take stern action against all those who were involved in the episode. The government should also realise that action speaks louder than words.