The fatal shooting of Aminulrasyid Amzah still reverberates nearly one month after the tragic incident, with the manner in which the police resorted to force being at the heart of the dispute between the Malaysian authorities and the victim's family.

Police brutality is nothing new in Malaysia. What puzzles me is why it has taken Malaysians of all races such a long time to come to grips with the grim reality. One may argue since our police force is made up predominantly by Malays, it is natural that the largest community chooses to remain silent especially when the victims were mostly Indians .

This perception has now been shattered. In fact, way back in 1998 through to 2000, Malay protestors themselves were made to bear the brunt of omnipotent state power when the police sided with the Mahathir government and cracked down hard on them. After the world saw the black eye of Anwar Ibrahim in September 1998, who would still believe our police was whiter than snow rather than red like crimson?

NONE And the spate of shootings - from Norizan Salleh (right picture in yellow) , Mohd Azizi Azri Aziz to Aminul - in recent months has broken the myth that the Malays enjoyed a certain kind of "special position" in the eye of the police. It does not matter if one is Indian, Chinese, Malay or others, these trigger happy cops simply tembak (shoot) in the spirit of ‘1Malaysia'.

All this calls into a very important question: can our police be democratic?

Stability and security are the twin pillars of a peaceful society. While police force is not the only source that secures the people against threat and chaos, as similar protection may come from the military, volunteer corps etc, it remains among the most significant conduits between citizens and the state.

The most challenging element in police work lies not only in ensuring that the force carries out its duty faithfully, but also in accordance with the rule of law rather than in subjugation to a political leader or party. The police are also duty-bound to demonstrate their impartiality in mediating civilian affairs, and be publicly accountable.

In defending the police, our government ministers and police chiefs have urged the public to show greater understanding for their hard work, including the risks that a police officer is taking in maintaining security. This view is legitimate and reasonable, although I find the snappy threat by Musa Hassan, the Inspector General of the Police, to pull cops off the Malaysian streets rather childish and uncalled for.

Police forces all over the world know they are supposed to be society's peacekeepers. But many a time, the everyday realities that they are confronted with out there are hardly civilized. In resorting to the use of force, the police are also establishing their territory and authority. This is a psychological aspect that one must consider in dealing with the police.

Hostility towards police

But in Malaysia, hostility towards the police is much more pronounced than is the case in the United States (remember Rodney King?) or France (where the Moroccans and Algerians are largely unhappy with racial profiling), thanks to rampant corruption and blatant brutality. All this only reinforces the antagonism between the cops and the civilians.

Law enforcement clearly requires a delicate balancing act. Then again, given the authoritarian nature of the Malaysian state, the conflicts between liberty and order are sharpened especially when the powers-that-be make use of the police to impose their will or ideology on the populace. This is another factor that contributes to the serious lack of mutual confidence between Malaysian society and our police force.

police brutality sinister corruption secrets In a properly functioning democracy, the police force can perfect the democratic system by respecting the law and carrying out its duty professionally. Sadly, Umno, in seeking to consolidate and perpetuate its monopoly on the state, has in the process developed a symbiotic relationship with the police force.

And this has created the dilemma in which the government must come to the defence of the police even when the latter are in the wrong, for the survival of the politicians depends on them to a considerable extent. This is one important reason why former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi failed to implement the recommendations made by the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police. Had he done so, too many heads must roll and he could have shortened his premiership by a couple of years.

This is also why Malaysia chose to abstain from voting to activate the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel and Unusual Treatment 1984 . Had we done so, a unique mechanism must be put in place so that international and national human rights experts would have access to places of detention to check on the conditions of those detained.

Malaysian police behaves badly

On the other hand, the Malaysian police behave badly because they are assured of government backing - come what may - and no independent judicial authorities are there to rein them in. As time goes by, they are slowly deluded into believing that the use of force knows no bounds, and the idea of minimal force for self-defence becomes alien to them.

NONE Since whatever laws that regulate the police's behaviour today are passed by a government that is hardly democratic,why should we then expect our police officers to conduct themselves democratically?

The government, in order to redeem itself, must restore the trust and honour that Malaysian society once held for the police. Greater transparency, expansion of democracy, independence of the judiciary and the freedom of the press are all part and parcel of the process towards this end.

Hardworking cops deserve better pay and higher self-esteem, but the government is standing in their way to achieve that. Yes, I blame the police for ending the innocent life of Aminulrasyid (above) , but it is the current government that must be made to shoulder the ultimate responsibility.

JOSH HONG studied politics at London Metropolitan University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A keen watcher of domestic and international politics, he longs for a day when Malaysians will learn and master the art of self-mockery, and enjoy life to the full in spite of politicians.