The high number of incidents of police shooting is nothing short of alarming. As reported by malaysiakini , 1.3 persons a week are being shot dead by the police in Malaysia.

This is based on the official figure given by the then deputy home minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir in Parliament last May. According to him, 635 people have been killed by our police in the past 10 years[#1] (Average of 1.3 persons shot dead by police a week, says memo to PM[/#], Oct 17).

The latest entry to this long list happened in Kluang, Johor, on Oct 10 when a mentally retarded man was shot and killed by the police. It is understandable and permitted by law if the police resort to shooting in self defence, but in this case the man was not in the process of lunging at the police with a parang, let alone with a firearm.

In fact, he was running away from the police after releasing his 10-year-old hostage whom he had held for four hours.

The police had, yes, four full hours to devise a plan to apprehend this man without causing hurt to him or his captive. We can speculate on what an efficient and well-trained police force could have done in such a situation, but surely, one of their options would not have been to shoot to kill.

Judge and executioner

In almost all reported cases, those killed were suspected to be criminals.

Whatever it is, it must be made clear that being a suspected criminal should not be reason enough for them to be killed. They should be arrested, brought before the courts to stand trial and, should they be found guilty, given a punishment that fits their crime.

The police should not play the role of the judge and executioner. Period.

Indeed, the Malaysian taxpayers cannot continue paying the salaries of an unprofessional police force who do not understand how to perform their duties, which incidentally do not include killing citizens, no matter how bad they are.

What can we do about it?

Sending in memorandums to the relevant authorities could be a start. The latest memorandum on this matter was submitted by a committee of the still unregistered Parti Rakyat Insan Malaysia (Prim). This follows at least two other memorandums submitted jointly by at least 180 non-governmental organisations in 1998.

Prim's memorandum is different as it was a well-documented one and included cases of police shooting reported in the mainstream media.

Media blackout

The media have been dutifully reporting the gory details of how suspects were killed by the police and providing the official versions given by the police as to why the shootings took place.

None had thus far reported news based on investigations whether the shootings were warranted. For the press, it's another shooting, another story.

Indeed, it was very disappointing when the memorandum submitted by Prim was not given proper coverage by the media. They could have used the memorandum to convey their concerns about police shootings.

Only with the media playing a greater role, will the public be able to demand for changes. The public can only know about such incidents of police shootings through the media, thus it is imperative for the media to take a stand on issues, not just blindly adhering to the scripts prepared by the authorities.

It was also shocking to learn that the bystanders in Kluang had actually cheered the police on to shoot the mentally retarded hostage taker. How sad!

How much of this cheering had encouraged the police to shoot and kill the man, one will never know. If the media had already initiated a campaign calling for the police to stop such shooting, the respect for human life could have been instilled in the minds of people.

Police killings are a serious matter. We should put a stop to it. The mass media must play a role in it, and the public must do their bid too. But more importantly, the change must take place within the police force. They should not go on shooting and killing people as they like.

Other options

It is unclear why there is such a high kill rate by the police. Whatever it is, killing someone is wrong.

The police could have used the services of psychiatrists, the police negotiating teams, fire warning shots into the air, or at worst, just shoot to incapacitate the offenders, not to kill them.

It is hoped the authorities will look through Prim's memorandum and pay some attention to some of the recommendations proposed.

No matter what changes are made to the law, it all boils down to the person holding the pistol at that particular crisis point. Our policemen should be trained to be more calm and less trigger-happy. Even some courses in counselling will help them overcome confrontations with dangerous persons.

It is important that they must also be able to use their common sense on when to shoot and when not to. Shooting a pregnant woman or an innocent doctor is definitely bad for the police image.

And finally, maybe the salary of the lower ranking policeman, who are involved in most of the shooting cases, should be revised. How does this help? A happy police officer will not resort to violence. Or so they say.

Related reports

[#2]Fatal police shootings[/#]

[#3]Indians dominate police shooting victims[/#]

[#4]OCPD should resign over 'shooting' case [/#]