It is by now clear that there is a widespread sense of insecurity resulting from rising crime rates. Many complaints and criticisms have been directed at the police.

To a large extent, the complaints and criticisms against the police are justified and justifiable. Corruption, no decent sense of honour, politicisation, abuse of power and the utter lack of police professionalism have made Malaysia a hotbed for organised and petty criminals as well as psychopaths.

What can we do? The police is not elected. The top police leadership cannot be thrown out by the people in the next general election. They can keep quiet when criticisms mount.

When their big fat ego is challenged, they make political arrests and detentions using dictatorial laws like the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Police Act. In other words, the police is self-perpetuating and self-reproducing, however strong the criticisms mounted by the angry people.

However, there is a hope. In a system of parliamentary democracy, there is an elected home minister who is in overall charge of the police. We can throw him out in the coming general elections to show our disapproval of his sub-standard performance as the people's supervisor of the police. Or, we can strengthen the opposition and downsize the party the home minister is affiliated to register our anger at police performance.

I am of course referring to the mediocre Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Although he looks nice, he certainly is incompetent. In a country that strives for the status of developed country, we need a home minister who is more professional, responsible and competent. If we want to see nice people, there are plenty of them everywhere among our neighbours, friends, family members and etc.

Pak Lah's performance as the home minister is exactly like the kind of mediocrity so often criticised by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad when the old man talks about the over-protective effects (or peril) of New Economic Policy: one needs not strive or compete openly with others to get to the top. One needs only to know who, without having the know-how.

For the sake of accountability and the good image of the nation, may be Pak Lah should seriously consider resigning as the home minister. There are plenty of other more qualified and competent politicians who can take over the job, like Rais Yatim.