THE passive Malay community who tends to respect (fear) the police have started to change as evident in the deadly pursuit incident involving of 17-year-old pupil Muhammad Zaharif Affendi who was ran over by a senior cop after a chase “for revving the throttle of his motorcycle and making a loud din”.
Veteran journalist and blogger Datuk A. Kadir Jasin observed that the victim’s parents have appointed a lawyer in the quest to obtain a proper defence for the late teenager.
“Before, most families of victims who died or were injured in police cases were just sad and accepted their fate,” the national journalism laureate penned on his Facebook page.
“The case is different with other races having already resorted to legal channels to defend their rights when faced with police cases. So, we hope the case against Mohd Nazri is legally sound and water-tight.”
Added Kadir: “At the same time, all parties responsible for motor vehicles, transportation and the environment must act decisively on noisy, smoky and imperfect vehicles. Ban the installation of noisy exhausts and dangerous modifications.”
For context, 44-year-old Deputy Supt Mohd Nazri Abdul Razak from the Kedah Contingent Police Headquarters (IPK) was charged with murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code before Magistrate S. Punitha at the Ipoh magistrate’s court yesterday (Dec 17).
He is charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which is punishable with death or imprisonment for between 30 and 40 years with not less than 12 strokes if found guilty. The court has set Feb 7 next year for mention pending chemical reports.
Delving further into the matter, Kadir emphasised the need for the police face to act with courtesy. On this note, he shared a friendly conversation with a senior officer in Bukit Aman in which he stated, among other things: “Must do something. The PDRM (Royal Malaysia Police) badge has the names of Allah and Muhammad.”
“Alhamdulillah, he replied quickly. He said: ‘The police officer is being investigated under Section 41 of the Road Transport Act for reckless driving that causes death and Section 302 (of the Penal Code) for murder’.”
Interestingly, Kadir also brought up to the attention of his senior police contact the very fact that “psychological problems may not be solely related to mental issues” insofar as the police force is concerned.
“It is also related to the mentality that ‘I have power, I use it. What can do? I have a gun.’ There are certainly not many crazy police personnel around. But mostly about being power crazy and abusing their authority. I used to sit in the 2004 PDRM Improvement Commission. Thank you.”
All in all, the former editor-in-chief of mainstream New Straits Tines hopes that the PDRM leadership takes decisive steps to overcome the psychological, mental and mentality issues within the police force.
“The police and the government have been talking and arguing about this for a long time,” he reminded. – Dec 19, 2023.
