It is ironic how Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar is demanding an apology from the Philippine government for alleging rape of a 13-year-old girl initially thought to be Filipina.

His reaction proves how Umno-Youth-like he is in behaviour, as reflected in his current handling of the Singapore water issue.

Little does he realise that the Malaysian government owes the public an apology for making the big blunder of deporting one's own citizen as an illegal immigrant. What an embarrassment to our country!

How did the local authorities determine who is Malaysian or not among the deportees? Was everyone in the detention camp interviewed before being sent off? Where did the parents of this girl suddenly appear from?

The speed with which the girl's parents were found and the DNA test was done to confirm her parentage is puzzling. Have the Malaysian police suddenly become so efficient when they were so inept in another case? I refer to the scandal involving former Melaka chief minister Rahim Thamby Chik and a schoolgirl. Why was a DNA test not done to determine who the father of her child was?

Back to the alleged rape case which, curiously, has now been changed into a nationality issue. What difference does nationality make here when an under-aged girl was allegedly raped by the police who were supposed to protect her? The investigation should be much more intense now as the girl is one of our own.

What will Women and Family Development Minister Shahrizat Jalil do now? I hope Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will reveal the same determination he showed when Philippine President Gloria Arroyo hauled him up over the case.

And Syed Hamid should learn when to keep his mouth shut.

It is just too difficult to trust our authorities anymore with so many recent boo-boos. I wonder how much more does it take for the government to realise that people have begun to lose faith in them.