COMMENT Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak must be commended for putting his foot down on the cross protest, which had threatened to spiral out of control.

He is often criticised for dragging his feet on contentious matters - such as his stand on Kelantan's pursuit of implementing hudud law - but this time around, he was quick to address the problem.

Apart from taking the protesters to task for causing unease with their action, he had also clarified that the police would investigate the matter and action could be taken under the fortified Sedition Act 1948.

Malaysians feel that the nation lacks leadership, with the prime minister and his ministers being more concerned about electoral implications as opposed to doing what is just and expected of them as representatives of the people.

In this case, Najib's prompt response prevented the situation from deteriorating and being exploited.

However, the Sedition Act 1948 is a draconian legislation and the track record of its invocation points to abuse, especially to silence dissent and freedom of expression.

The protesters should be investigated under the Penal Code, which contains sufficient provisions to deal with such incidents.

Reprimand IGP

On the same note, Najib must reprimand his police chief Khalid Abu Bakar, who appears to be enforcing the law on a selective basis.

When it involves opposition politicians and civil society leaders, the inspector-general of police is quick to issue orders via Twitter to investigate, which are followed by swift arrests and overnight detentions.

He had even lamented how some people were continuing to stoke racial and religious tension despite being warned repeatedly not to do so.

But in the case of the Taman Medan protest, Khalid took an uncharacteristic approach.

Even before an investigation was launched and concerned parties quizzed, he had cleared the protesters , which included Khalid's brother Abdullah , of breaching the Sedition Act, which he is fond of.

The protesters, who came armed with placards which warned against challenging the Muslims and threatening to lower the cross themselves if the church failed to do so, based on the police chief’s interpretation, were merely participants of a flash mob.

In a bizarre deduction, Khalid also believed that the protesters were not targetting the Christian faith.

A few hours later, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the protesters had breached the Sedition Act, and the police chief refused to comment on the contradicting stands .

Najib must straighten the IGP and school him on his role.

Apart from this, the prime minister, who is also Umno president, must ensure that party members who participated in the protest face disciplinary action.

At present, it seems there is an attempt by Umno to distance itself from those at the protest such as Abdullah, a party branch chairperson, and Munaliza Hamzah ( left ), the Umno candidate for the Taman Medan state assembly seat in the last national polls.

For once, Najib should put aside the next general election and think of the next generation. Mere lip service with no action is not sufficient.