A few events that happened over the past couple of months provide some interesting food for thought.

First, there is Shahrir Abdul Samad's resignation from the chairmanship of the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club. When he supported a motion tabled by the opposition to refer a self-confessed corrupted BN MP to the Committee of Privileges, Pak Lah told him to shut up. Apparently, toeing the line is more important than following your conscience.

On the other hand, following the declining in statue of our police force and their recent well- publicised abuse of power, the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police recommended the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC). The police rank and file openly object to this proposal and threatened revolt and even mass resignations if the IPCMC is established.

In this case, I have to wonder where is the (in)famous 'line' which every government servant must toe? Is it that Pak Lah never had the intention to establish the IPCMC and is simply allowing and condoning the police rank-and-file to play the role of the 'bad cop' (no pun intended)? I like to see him prove me wrong.

Then on May 14, an unruly mob heckled, interrupted and prematurely ended a legally sanctioned forum in Penang aimed at discussing the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, specifically Article 11 that guarantees freedom of religion. The dissenters did not bother to discuss the issue intelligently, but rather resorted to mob tactics. The 90-personnel-strong police presence could not contain the roughly about 300 protesters or guarantee the organiser's safety.

Just this past Sunday, some 100 policemen came out in full force to disperse and beat up about 500 peaceful protesters including women and children at the KLCC who turned up to vent their frustration and dissatisfaction over the latest electricity tariff hike which came hot on the heels of the fuel price hike.

I can't help but come to the sad conclusion that the Penang mob and the police force are actually on the same side. At the very least, they are only good for harassing peace-loving, law-abiding citizens.

A more pertinent question is, who's side is Pak Lah on?