Media statement by Ronnie Liu, DAP National Publicity Secretary in Petaling Jaya on Sunday, April 23, 2000

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Media statement by Ronnie Liu, DAP National Publicity Secretary in Petaling Jaya on Sunday, April 23, 2000.

Police morale and image in jeopardy
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The DAP reiterates today that the police should be neutral and stay out of party politics if they are serious in improving its image by regaining the confidence of the Malaysian people. The duty and responsibility of the police is to maintain peace in the society, and they should not take the order directly from any political leaders in carrying out their duties. The police should always remember the scandalous incident involving its former chief Rahim Noor and view it as a lesson for all.

Ronnie Liu, DAP National Publicity Secretary feels that Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar is not sincere and honest when he said that the police action to diffuse "unlawful" demonstrations in the country has nothing to do with curtailing the freedom of expression among the people. Syed Hamid Albar should know very well that the right to assembly is the basic right of the people, and the "Black 14" peaceful gathering on April 15, 2000 was only unilaterally termed unlawful by the police.

The Malaysian Human Rights Commission led by Musa Hitam has disappointed many Malaysians for their inaction in the "Black 14 " episode. They have failed to monitor the situation on the day and kept mum about the mass arrest until today. Malaysians do not need a "lame duck" human rights commission to add on to a long list of alibi institutions which exist only in names.

The morale of the police force is at the lowest at the moment. On one hand, their welfare were being ignored by the government for a long time. Many of them have lost their enthusiasm in carrying their duties due to meagre pay and /or being bypassed in promotion exercise. But on the other hand, the police officers were forced to take orders to break up peaceful gatherings and indirectly become the enemies of the demonstrators. I have an impression that nobody has any respect for the police these days. It's quite sad to say that , but whom should we blame?

The DAP urges the government to refrain from giving unreasonable and unjustifiable directives and orders to the police force, and also seriously look into the welfare of the police by reviewing their salary scales and
ensure a fair and equal system of promotion within the police force.

Otherwise, no amount of PR exercise (kempen mesra, larian mesra, giving hand-outs to orphans and patients,etc) can help to raise the morale and image of the police in the country.