The police of late have being stung with much criticism from the public. Even the good men and women in blue - who just like all of us are merely earning a decent living through their vocation of choice - are being bruised with tarnished reputations simply for listening to their captains.

Lately, the public continues to read and watch video recordings of physical manhandling by those ordered to act against any public display of disagreement with government actions or in-action.

The more people voice their frustration against the deprivation of legitimate space to vent, the harder the men and women in blue seem to get when on the offensive.

Arresting and detaining public figures and people's representatives is not going to help solve the problems at hand. The season of muscled actions to intimidate is long gone.

PDRM bosses must quickly realise this truth if they are to remain as effective and respected leaders of the men and women in blue.

The following solutions are offered for free and with love for the tens of thousands of PDRM staff and hopefully will be considered by the decision makers at Bukit Aman:

- Whenever the rakyat want to gather to express their show of disapproval, give them the physical space.

- Stand guard to make sure undesirable elements do not spook the show of solidarity.

- Get the crowd to know that the police are there to protect their own safety and that the men and women in blue have the astute capability to act fast and curb any potential untoward break-outs.

- Stay away from taking political sides. Police are on the citizens' payroll to protect the public's presence anywhere.

- If you want to take a political stand - which all members of the police are also entitled to, go off-duty first.

- Do not keep harping that you acted tough in the interest of public order. People are laughing at you because there have been numerous instances where tens of thousands of people behaved well without incident when the police did not barge in.

- You cannot claim that public order is maintained by arresting and detaining a few 'leaders' in every public assembly. It makes the PDRM look so bankrupt really.

- The captains of PDRM have a leadership role to play. They have the moral responsibility to make their subordinates look good in the eyes of the public they profess to protect.

- Get tough by all means with crooks and thieves who rob this nation of what rightfully belongs to its past, present and future citizens.

- Go after criminals without mercy. But stop gunning for the working rakyat who clamor for a corrupt-free regime.

- Stop demanding for an 'apply for permit first'. It only burdens your stretched staff. If your staff are doing their job well, PDRM would be the first to know who is gathering where and when.

If the big boys at PDRM - including the minister - can implement these fundamentals, then we can save millions of ringgit wasted on organising all kinds of failed 'mesra rakyat' public relations campaigns.

And the money saved can be channeled to better the earning potential of the ordinary policemen and women of the rank-and-file.

That in a nutshell is a 'Think smart, act simple' strategy to regain a lost reputation and restore the uniformed staff’s morale.