(What some politicians failed to see is that the eye-witness story that has too many holes which makes the victim, Aminulrasyid Amzah coming out without any faults – is the police really to be blamed? Image source: Malaysian Insider)
Another open case where the politicians have lost the point.
The more PR politicians harping on the wrong issue, the more irrelevant they are fast becoming. Why every issue that touches on the Government has to have its fault?
Sometimes I really wonder whether these politicians have run of ideas and have decided to harp on any trivial matters just to make some noise. The recent shooting of one 15 years old boy in Shah Alam is one fine example.
PR politicians have been at the forefront in asking the police and the Home Minister accountable for the fatal shooting but are they really focussing on the area that matters most?
There are some doubts as to the facts of the case (like the discovery of parang and accusation that the victims were criminals) but certain pertinent questions cannot be avoided such as:-
- What a 15 years old boy is doing by illegally driving a car around?
- Why the parents have been so reckless? Has this happened before?
- What would have happened if he had killed someone on the road (he already knock into another car and tried to escape)?
- Why he did not stop when he was ordered to stop by the police?
- Despite the hail of bullets, why he continued to speed off fuelling the notion that he has something to hide?
There are also doubts about the “eye-witness cum passenger’s” account of the fatal incident. The whole story is somewhat is having too many loose gaps in between and it will remain so until investigations are done.
For those politicians who had been making comments on the case, one has to ask why they did not question those facts. The victim is not innocent after all and had grossly contributed to the police’s actions.
The same thing happens during Kugan’s death – the car theft suspects who died in the police’s custody. No one questions why the victims get themselves into the fatal situation in the first place.
A reader at MP Khalid Samad’s blog rightfully commented:-
If we are looking for someone to blame for this tragic episode, than the person to be blamed would be the boy himself. He is old enough to know right from wrong.
He is old enough to know that he is REQUIRED to OBEY the laws. He is also old enough to shoulder his mistake and in this case, it is very heavy price to pay.
The other person to blame would be his parents. He is afterall a minor and his guardian is fully responsible for his care and control. Why didnt his guardian, which in this case, is his mama instil in her son the right attitude and discipline?
There is no excuse for his mama in this case. Spare the rod and spoil the child is classic here.
Dont forget, he took the car when everyone is sleeping. He obviously already know how to drive (who taught him? Didnt his mama know that he can drive? Didnt she instill and drill into him that he is not allowed to drive?) and lastly, what is a teenager doing roaming the streets in the dead of the night?
No doubt that a shoot to kill act should have been the last in the line for the police but that itself does not mean the police are trigger happy and have misconducted themselves. In light of the Mat Rempit, terrorising other road users, there is a clear need for the police to act swiftly and decidedly.
We cannot expect the police to sit still seeing a car fleeing from an accident and continue to be driven fast.
The Government has promised an investigation into the matter and it will be best for us to wait for the outcome of the investigations. If there have been genuine mistakes done in handling the case, then the police need to act swiftly to avoid similar tragedies from happening.
There have been too many dubious deaths in the hands of the police and things have not improved for the better. We cannot afford to have young people dying in tragic circumstances. But if there has been clear recklessness from the police, then we do expect the Government to act accordingly. The guilty ones should not be left to go unpunished.
This however does not give any Tom-Dick-Harry from any political parties from continuing to politicise the case without giving its due consideration to the fault of the victims even though it is tragic. Sometimes things are not straight-forward as it appears to be.
it’s the fact tat the police are also being inconsistent that riles me up…
Why say 6km chase when it was only 1km? And aren’t there any other methods to stop vehicles on the road? I’ve personally seen police cars boxing in, or swiping the bumper to make cars lose control. Why 20 shots fired?
It is not tat we are demonizing the cops. But we demand proper answers. And both u and i need to know whether are our supposed protectors competent and are up to the job.
**no disrespect to the ones aledi doing a fine job policing the nation**
Someone along the way have screw up things and both parties are pointing the finger at each other. It has been said many times on why the police always resort to high-handed measures on the criminal suspects but nothing much have been done to improve it – I agree.
But given the “past records”, the police seems to be at the receiving end of the political pressure which I think is unfair. If the so-called victim had not stole (yes stole) his sister’s car that night, he probably at home playing marbles and watching cartoons.
Perhaps the real reason ppl are getting worked up, is because of the inconsistencies within the dept. The officer involved mayb reacted on first instinct. I ask, why did his instinct made him resort to such a high-handed measure?
It goes back to the training and guidelines provided to the cops. What I’d like to know is, whether the training is comprehensive and given by a competent trainer following international standards (if it exists)? Are their standards declining? Or are they teaching wrongly?
Having the IGP throwing a fit before the press doesn’t really explain things.
i do have to thank my parents for their constant monitoring of me during my teenage years. Heck, until today, i’m more afraid of my dad than the police. Police will put me in jail. I dunno where my dad’ll put me. 😛