YOURSAY ‘Why not try explaining their suspicions instead of sticking to the obstinate stance that we are law enforcers and demand you believe us?’

IGP opens fire on 'shootout' critics

your say Anonymous #44199885: No one is questioning the right of the police to take appropriate action to enforce the law and protect the public from criminals.

However, when reports are released that the alleged criminals were holed up in an apartment when shot dead in a fire fight and an announcement is made linking them or the guns found to 10 murders, questions will arise as to the speed at which the police made the conclusions and why the police could not have captured them alive considering that the criminals could not have escaped.

If they were captured, valuable intelligence could have been gathered on the underground personalities they may have been connected with, their relationship with other criminal gangs and the principal players in these gangs, the source of supply of the guns, the other activities undertaken by them, the clients who may have hired them to commit the murders etc.

All this may now be lost unless the deceased have kept records in the apartment or elsewhere that the police can access.

Wira: Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar, civil society gives its citizen the right to question and criticise when they suspect extrajudicial killings.

Why not try explaining their suspicions instead of sticking to the obstinate stance that we are law enforcers and we demand that you believe us?

Well Thats Fantastic: There is no justification for breaking the law and that includes the police. If they followed proper procedures, then I doubt any lives would have been lost.

When a BN guy needs to be brought in, you knock on his door quietly and hope he will come quietly. When a Pakatan Rakyat guy needs to brought in, you turn up with a dozen armed men to arrest and handcuff him, then when you need to bring in alleged crooks you shoot them dead.

Why are there different rules for different people? Why was the CCTV turned off? Why did the police not have their own video recording devices? Why were five shot dead but only three guns found?

Cantabrigian: What an absurd reply from the IGP. PDRM is bound by their standard operating procedure (SOP) and cannot act beyond it, otherwise they should be investigated by the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

Oh wait a minute, there is no such thing as IPCMC in Malaysia. Okay IGP, go on and continue with your SOP - shoot first, ask questions later.

P Dev Anand Pillai: Good job IGP, now is the time that you take the lead to prove to us Malaysians that you are indeed interested in revamping the force to make a professional and impartial one.

No matter who comes to power, be it BN or Pakatan, the police must remain a professional crime fighting force that has only the maintenance of peace and order as its main concern.

Criminals will never learn until the men in uniform retaliate. We need to reclaim our streets and if the police are not allowed to do it, then the people will have to put up with the criminals who will impose their will.

MsiaBaru: Here in Malaysia, we comment first, cover up facts later. We need criminal forensic to do the facts finding to determine how rounds of shots were shot by each side.

Check for the bullet holes in the room. Why only the victims were killed and none of the police officers injured? Publicise the findings to prove police’s actions.

Onyourtoes:

IGP, of course there is no policy of "shoot-to-kill"; but lack of a policy does not mean you cannot do it, am I right?

The police must carry out its duties and responsibilities in accordance with procedures and laws. Of course, we can criticise you for sitting on your butt, otherwise how did we reach our present predicament in the first place.

When we asked you to buck up, you said you need the Emergency Ordinance (EO) and all the extrajudicial power. When we asked you to get tough with criminals, you start to shoot them all dead.

Look, police are expected to do their job professionally, not finding the easiest way out. You are not a criminal and that is why we expect you to account and justify your action.

RakyatBiasa: People, you asked the police to go after the criminals and not waste time and public funds going after the opposition leaders. And now when this is done, you lament over the police's shoot-to-kill policy.

Do you rather have your loved ones get slashed or shot by these criminals? Please allow the police to do their job for our own safety.

Born Free: Sometimes I sympathise with the victims but on the other hand the police are carrying out their duty. The only problem is that our police image has been badly tarnished, and that leaves the public wondering whether they are trigger happy.

If the police force had an excellent record, the public would have quickly endorsed the excellent work carried out. In this case?

Hajile Leumas: I believe the ‘04 gang’ has been terrorising the rakyat for who knows how long and it is refreshing to know that the police has done their job to cripple the gang, at least temporarily.

The message that the rakyat should take from this incident is that crime doesn't pay and that the PDRM will not tolerate the existence of secret societies and criminal gangs that enrich themselves, propagate drug peddling, assassinations, prostitution, robberies, kidnappings, etc.

The end may not have justified the means but the 04 gang is an armed and dangerous group and I would like to give the benefit of the doubt to the PDRM.

Cala: Clearly Khalid only has a rudimentary knowledge of the causes of crimes in society. To him, the problem is solved as soon as a suspect is shot and killed.

Does it? Where on earth is his data? As far as I am concerned, however, the issue of crime must be viewed from a multi-level and interdisciplinary approach.

For example, did local police take preventive measures before the spate of shootings? How many police in percentage are involved in crime prevention? Do the police involve local communities in understanding a neighbourhood?

As for interdisciplinary study, what views are more appropriate (functionalist, conflict, or constructivist)? Are the minorities equally treated by the regime? What are the employment prospect? Are the urban poor attended to?

Versey: We do respect that the police have a duty to carry out and are willing to support you guys in your duty but we also expect the higher rung police officers are more thoughtful with better planning in carrying out their duty.

Since the police believed and suspected the five men were hired killers wanted for murders and they possessed guns, the police were justified to arrest them.

Did the police plan to arrest them alive so that you could find out more about the criminal activities, eg where they obtained the guns, the contact through whom they were hired for killing, leading to the people behind the murders, whether there are other members involved and who is the leader of the gang ring?

Surely the public would have expected the police chief to have more grey matter in planning than doing what had been done which is to cut off all the possible leads to more arrests, so that justice can be brought upon those who have hired killers to carry out murders. Is it too much to ask or expect from our police?

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