YOURSAY | ‘The police fail in their duty when such provocations are not resolved speedily.’

Lorry driver wasn't the only one beaten up that day

Dont Just Talk: Nowadays, might is right and money can solve all evil, such as beating up a lorry driver senselessly over a minor accident. The police fail in their duty when such provocations are not resolved speedily.

Inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar should be commended this time for instructing his men to arrest and charge the alleged bullies when attempts had already been made to resolve the matter amicably between the two parties, which is an irony as the lorry driver had ended up with over 12 stitches on his head and neck.

Let it be a lesson to road bullies that might is not always right.

Pemerhati: Writer Al-Abror Mohd Yusof said, “Failure to enforce the law will mark the downfall of a nation. This is a downward spiral Malaysia does not want to fall into.”

The reality is that Malaysia has been in a downward spiral for a very long time and now things are very much worse as the top people allegedly steal the people’s money by the billions with impunity and are allegedly protected by the authorities and ministers.

Things were already bad even in 2005 as illustrated by this excerpt from BBC’s investigative report by Jonathan Kent about Malaysia’s underworld and its alleged close links with the country’s powers-that-be.

This is Jonathan Kent’s conversation with one of the underworld’s members called Ah Hing: Ah Hing makes no bones about his world and his life.

"I admit that I am a bad guy, and that I'm a gangster," he said. "So who runs your world?" I asked, to which he gave a simple reply: "The government". "If the government doesn't want to be a bit lenient with us, there's no work."

Speak For All: If the rule of law is not practiced in an equal manner, then of course, we will see more of this kind of incidents happening in the country because the powerful and well-connected ones could get away perhaps even with murder.

We have seen some people who are not enforcement officers but doing enforcement duties by raiding a gambling outlet and getting away with it without any action taken by the authorities till today.

The problem in this country is every Tom, Dick and Harry is a Datuk and many of them get this titles for God knows what reason.

Goldee: Al-Abror, you are right, our country has gone to the dogs. People take the law into their own hands because to them it is apparently approved by the authorities. They treat bullying and bashing of lorry driver as a small matter.

Since red-shirt leader Jamal Mohd Yunos can do as he wishes, others are following his example.

James_3392: Alleged police inaction in many instances, for example the red-shirts, the Parliament fracas, the disruption of Zunar’s exhibition in Komtar, etc, sent the message that with the right connections, law enforcement can allegedly be bent to suit them.

This beating of the lorry driver is just another incident to add to the list.

Aktan: Al-Abror’s article beautifully describes the real situation in this country. Alas, is anything being done to stop this? Where do we start? Blame the opposition for doing nothing?

It would be good for the cybertroopers who have been supportive of the present regime to be the next victims.

There is dead silence from the top and as such is it any wonder why the country’s credibility has been lost along with our depreciating ringgit?

Just a Malaysian: I was queuing up at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at the Immigration counter.

An ugly fat guy cut into the queue with his family. The guard stopped him, but he proudly announced, "I am Datuk so and so." The guard relented and the whole entourage barged through.

A few Westerners behind me looked puzzled. I said, "Welcome to Malaysia, where the rich and powerful rule.”

PM challenged to change constitution to turn M'sia into Islamic state

Kim Quek: Anyone with a decent knowledge of law would realise that it is impossible to turn the country into an Islamic state without re-writing the Federal Constitution.

And any stealthy and incremental step taken in that direction, as exemplified by Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill or the gimmicks of former chief justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad, would also be futile, as these would easily bump into conflict with the many firmly secular provisions of the constitution.

Besides, how many Malaysians are willing to accept the economic catastrophe that will inevitably befall the country once this multiracial and multi-religious society is turned into an Islamic state?

Instead of unrealistically chasing the impossible, why don’t we concentrate our energy to remove what is bad and build up what is good for all?

Drngsc: We are afraid of wild cards who disrespect the constitution in an attempt to cling on to power by all means. Malaysia is a multi-religious, multi-racial, and multi-cultural country.

All religions must be respected, and "Equality before the law, after all, is a central tenet of our nation enshrined in Article 8 of the Federal Constitution".

Anticonmen: At the end of the day, the problems faced by this country will boil down to equality, freedom, and fraternity, which were dismantled or restricted gradually over the years since 1969.

Reinstate them and the country will prosper for all.

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