Malaysians should worry. The weapons haul seized by the police on Monday was packed with the kind of firepower that even our cash-rich military would envy. Among them was the state-of-the-art FN P-90 the weapon of choice for the world's most elite forces. There were 70 of such deadly firearms, enough to equip a small army.

These were put on display at a press conference called by the police after a shoot-out in which two alleged gun-runners were killed.

But apparently the police omitted a crucial detail that many of the weapons were replicas, not real guns. The tell-tale sign is the distinctive black and red label 'Hop Up' attached to the guns on exhibit.

Hop Up, a trademark of Japanese toy gun maker Tokyo Marui, is a mechanism which enables replica guns to fire a pellet with far greater accuracy compared to other imitation guns.

Indeed, just as one is greeted with the ubiquitous 'Intel Inside' labels on our computers, so too would one find 'Hop Up' tags on replica guns.

Not exactly the real thing

Replicas, which are collector items for gun enthusiasts, look almost like real guns but do not discharge deadly ammunition. Made mostly of high quality plastics instead of metals, they are lighter than the real thing.

Which was why Criminal Investigation Deparment director Salleh Mat Som could lift two guns with relative ease when posing for the cameras at a press conference.

Confronted with this uncomfortable fact which was spotted by a number of discerning readers after photos of the exhibit were splashed on the front pages of most dailies the police insisted that these toy guns were nevertheless regarded as weapons, and that they can kill.

Bukit Aman spokesperson Shamsuddin Ali also stressed that the replicas, like their real cousins, are illegal.

Sure, imitation guns can be used as weapons. And yes, they can kill. That is, if one is to aim for the eye at point blank. Or if one is bludgeoned with the butt of the gun. But real guns are real guns and fakes are fakes there is a sea of difference between the two.

Even the law recognised this distinction those found guilty of possessing imitation guns are liable to be sentenced up to one year jail, while a mandatory death penalty awaits those with real guns.

Unanswered questions

But why didn't the police reveal that some of the arms cache were imitations? Is it because they couldn't tell the difference between real guns and fakes? And of the arsenal of 70 weapons seized, how many were really toy guns?

Such questions will only help to tarnish the image of the police force further.

A senior cop recently lamented that parents are using the police to spook their children into behaving themselves or else they would be taken away. This, he decried, would only imprint into the young minds that cops are vile characters.

Clearly, that should be the least of his worries.

True, the police put their lives at risk everyday to ensure that our streets and homes are safe. And just as other professionals, those in the force who have acted beyond the call of duty should be commended.

The problem however is the public perception that the police force has not been acting professionally, that citizens are not treated equally by these law enforcers, that the force answers only to their political masters, that they abuse human rights with impunity, and that they are trigger-happy.

In 1999, the parliament was told that 635 people had been shot dead by the police over the previous 10 years an average of 1.3 person a week.

Indeed, Malaysians should worry.