Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his zeal to seek an apology from the Philippines, overlooked the fact that the incompetency of his officials were to blame for the 13-year-old's plight in the first place.

First, immigration enforcement officials nabbed her and without further in-depth investigation threw the teenager into the detention camp in Manggatal for more than two months.

Consequently they deported her to Philippines, where her nationality was uncovered while investigating into her alleged rape. Reacting strongly to the poor girl's ordeal, President Gloria Arroyo urged Malaysia to do an investigation.

As a result of that investigation, the girl was found to be Malaysian. A pertinent question is — if the girl did not reveal her story about been raped by Malaysian policemen, would any such investigation be done to prove her citizenship?

Probably not because it seems the immigration officers had not bothered to find out who they are deporting as no effort was made to find the girl's identity when she underwent detention for several months in the camp.

The second party guilty of wronging the girl are the police, as her alleged rapists in the force had no sense of responsibility to the country and society. On that note, it is unbecoming for Mahathir to demand an apology from the Philippines.

Malaysia should instead apologise to the Philippines for wrongly deporting the girl there by claiming she is a Filipina.

Furthermore, Malaysia also should thank the Philippine government for raising the alarm over the alleged rape and alerting the authorities that some of our policemen could be rapists. The government should compensate the girl for the suffering she underwent because of the inefficiency of the civil service.

Mahathir should take stern action against the immigration and police officials who have shamed Malaysia for all the world to see. The policemen involved in the rape, if proven guilty, should not be punished just for the rape but for tarnishing the country's name as well.

Sabah's immigration department, including the enforcement chief officer and director-general, must also take full responsibility for the boo-boo that have smeared our country's reputation.