Not too long ago, popular American reggae artiste Shaggy released a chart-topping single called It Wasn't Me. The song is about a guy who gets caught with another woman. When he approaches the singer for help, he is advised to deny it all.

But she caught me o­n the counter

"It wasn't me"

Saw me banging o­n the sofa

"It wasn't me"

I even had her in the shower

"It wasn't me"

She even caught me o­n camera

"It wasn't me"

She saw the marks o­n my shoulder

"It wasn't me"

Heard the words that I told her

"It wasn't me"

The moral of the story: Simply deny everything and you will be safe.

However, past and recent events indicate that Shaggy may have lifted the idea for this song from the Malaysian police force.

Rare display

The latest fiasco involving the alleged mistreatment of a group of Indian nationals who were detained o­n suspicion of being illegal immigrants was a glaring example of this denial syndrome.

The Indians, most of whom were professionals in the information technology sector and possessed valid documents, claimed they were physically assaulted and had their passports defaced during their ordeal, which lasted several hours at a police station in Kuala Lumpur.

With a rare display of lighting-speed efficiency, the police denied the accusation and defended its personnel involved in the pre-dawn swoop as having acted in accordance with the law.

Even Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar backed the claim, saying initial investigations revealed no wrongdoing o­n the part of the men and women in uniform.

Diplomatic protest

But the Indian High Commission here and the Indian government were not impressed. Diplomatic protests were lodged and threats to reconsider trade ties were issued.

When it became obvious that the Indians were not going to let the matter rest, premier-in waiting Abdullah Ahmad Badawi ordered a second probe, o­ne showing more earnest.

Suddenly discrepancies were found and an apology was extended.

The question here is: Why wait for the situation to escalate to the point where the Indian hockey team pulls out of a Malaysian tournament in protest, before admitting o­ne's follies?

The police is an enormous institution and to say that it is free of misadventures would be a falsehood of immense proportions.

There will always be a 'few' (since the article refers to the police force, there would be many who would debate the use of this term) rotten apples in any outfit.

By being so quick to deny the allegations, the police expected the public to believe that the Indian nationals simply made accusations of being "punched, kicked and slapped" for no apparent reason.

Culture of denial

So why did it happen?

First and foremost, it is the lack or professionalism in the police force which has been so used to doing things the 'old school' way which requires no explanation, especially to foreigners.

Second, there is hardly any accountability and the average Malaysian is resigned to the fact that this is how the police and other state apparatuses operate. So people choose not to kick up a fuss over such abuse.

Last but not least, is the utter disregard for the rights of, and the lack of respect for, foreign nationals (read: those who hail from countries that have no political or economical clout).

It would have better served the interest of the department to just acknowledge the incident and launch an exhaustive inquiry into the matter from the o­nset, instead of waiting for matters to worsen.

What is so wrong in admitting to discrepancies and acting against those who flout the rules? Wouldn't such a move boost the credibility of the police?

It would have proved that the force, although imperfect, is at least bold enough to concede its mistakes, rectify them and move o­n.

At the end of the day, their image has been further tarnished, the Indian government is irked, and several of the IT professionals who are instrumental in making the Multimedia Super Corridor project a success are leaving the country to seek a more hospitable climate..

This is not the first time that the police have denied accusations against them and you can rest assured that it will not be the last.

The culture of denial is not exclusive to the police, but a prevalent malaise in all sectors in this country. Even political parties, both the ruling and the opposition, are known to belt out Shaggy's It Wasn't Me every now and then.

No PR

International author Michael Backman hit the spot when he said Malaysia's lack of public relations skills is the cause of bad press for the country and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

In a recent commentary in a Singaporean tabloid, the author described Malaysia as "one country in Asia that underperforms o­n the PR and information front".

Elaborating, he said that, too often, government decisions in Malaysia and the processes behind them have not been fully explained.

"Explanations are often too defensive or simply lacking in sophistication," he said, citing the police raid o­n malaysiakini as an example.

A little bit of accountability and PR can go a long way and it is about time that those who walk the corridors of power realise that.

RK ANAND is a member of the malaysiakini team.