Former Sarawak Police Commissioner Yuen Yuet Leng today reminded the media, politicians and the public not to go overboard with their condemnation of the police.

According to Yuen, a highly decorated policeman, public outcry against the police force must stop, as the attention should be on the corrupt police personnel.

"Enough of police bashing for now. Don't demoralise the good cops and those who want to join the force. It is not fair for the good policemen who risk their lives to protect us," reminded Yuen, who through the course of his career, sustained two gunshot wounds.

"The public must point to problems within the police force the right way. The police cannot be conditioned to change unless the public helps," he stressed.

Yuen was speaking to reporters at his residence in Ampang, in response to the public outcry over the controversial 'naked ear-squats' video.

Consult Barisan

Instead of merely condemning the police, the public should engage the police and lawmakers to review laws and procedures to help create a better police force, he said.

He explained that as society matures and people become more aware of their rights, the police force along with relevant laws and guidelines must also evolve.

For example, Yuen felt that the manner in which the policewoman in the controversial video performed the body search was wrong. But he added that the instructions do not specify in detail how the procedure is done according to specific circumstances.

"Go to the (ruling party) Barisan (National) politicians to have discussions with them. They will be stupid not to listen (due to the public outrage over the video)," said Yuen, adding that the public should demand that the Royal Police Commission's recommendations be implemented.

Define 'whistleblower'

On the video, he felt that it was likely taken without approval and the crime would be worse if the perpetrator turns out to be a policeman.

"But when the police want to catch the person who filmed the video, people say the police are trying to cover up the issue by silencing the 'whistleblower'," said Yuen.

He also urged the public to consider if the person who took and released the video was in fact a bona fide whistleblower, or that the person took the video for other purposes.

Yuen believed that Inspector General of Police Bakri Omar and his deputy Musa Hassan are doing their outmost to stamp out corruption within the force and investigate the controversial video.

Asked about his opinion on naked ear-squats, which Deputy Internal Security Minister claims is not against the law, Yuen said, "I don't think it is right. It is certainly not encouraged by the police,".

Yuen, 79, is a highly decorated police from Taiping, Perak. He was formerly the deputy director of the police Special Branch and was the Chief Police Officer of Perak from 1976 to 1981.

A large part of his career was spent fighting the communist insurgency in Perak and Sarawak. He also frequently contributed articles to various publications on national affairs.