BN yet to care for the rakyat

One truth which Najib is scared of admitting is that the rakyat had long stopped feeling safe in more ways than one.

COMMENT

Putrajaya is working at breakneck speed to ensure it wins the rakyat’s trust and support in facing the nation’s coming general election dubbed as the “mother of all elections”.

From home expenses to student aid to grocery discount, the federal government has done it all – the aim more ulterior than noble.

Now, the ruling Barisan Nasional government has zoomed in on the army and police force with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak declaring on March 11 that salary grades for the military and police force would, effectively Jan 1 this year, be raised to match the structure in the civil service.

This latest emphatic move by BN is far from being altruistic. Rather, the deaths of eight policemen at the hands of Sulu militants in Lahad Datu and Semporna in Sabah early this month is the catalyst that prompted the pay rise move.

Far from being a situation of “BN cares for the rakyat”, the Najib admnistration very dastardly is cashing in on the on-going tense scenario afflicting Sabah.

To Najib, the army and the police deserve a pay hike or pay “readjustment” because of the “great manifestation of the commitment of the forces towards the country and the responsibility they carried”.

Had this been the case, why wait until the attack by intruders or militants or terrorists on Lahad Datu? Or, for that matter, why wait until eight cops were gunned down by these intruders for Najib to realise what “great manifestation of commitment had taken place”?

Clearly, the federal government is taking advantage of the hostile situation in Sabah by once again playing the only game it knows best – money politics.

With the 13th general election staring at us, a despondent BN has returned to gutter politics to secure for itself a soft spot in the rakyat’s heart using money as its trump card.

Justify pay rise for cops

While Najib and his coterie try so hard to stay ahead of their nemesis, the Pakatan Rakyat, by conjuring up all sorts of “tricks and treats” for the rakyat, the pay rise for the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP), however, begs justification for the simple reason that while eight cops died in the line of duty in Sabah, deaths in police custody show no sign of ending.

A letter to FMT by human rights watchdog Suaram on March 13 called for an end to deaths in police custody; the first quarter of this year saw four, otherwise healthy individuals ending up dead while in police detention.

Suaram wants the RMP to ensure accountability for the so-called “sudden deaths” of the individuals, citing a lack of respect on the part of the RMP for the fundamental right to life as guaranteed by Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and also the value of human life.

In spite of this, will the never-ending deaths in police custody worry Najib enough to warrant change? Hardly, going by the fact that repeated calls by the civil society for the government to implement the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) continues to be dismissed by the Najib leadership.

In the face of such circumstances, how should the rakyat welcome news of a salary increase particularly for the police force?

Najib’s assurance that the people can go about their daily affairs without worry, too, does not hold water, going by the increasing crime rate and “inadequate” police personnel to reach out to the rakyat.

One truth which Najib is scared of admitting is that the rakyat had long stopped feeling safe in more ways than one.

Deliver on the core promise

The one-off Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia financial aid, the 1Malaysia fish market or the “1Malaysia market on wheels” are not the answer to the rakyat’s worry about their safety.

Instead of knee-jerk reactions and abuse of political power, the BN government has to act like any caring and sincere government would, by firstly ensuring that the streets are a safe place for the people.

The 1Malaysia markets, bookstores and supermarkets aside, the government has to spend enough to make sure the police force is within the reach of the rakyat.

There is little point lavishly building police stations where service is hostile or intimidating.

To win the rakyat’s trust, BN must first deliver on its core promise of “People First, Performance Now” by assuring the rakyat that the police force is here to care and not to perform on a carte blanche basis.

And when it comes to wrongdoings by the RMP, an independent body must deliver the verdict and, in this case, the role of an IPCMC cannot be denied.

The question which Najib refuses to answer and one that the rakyat will continue hounding him with is, why is the BN government afraid of implementing the IPCMC?

As for the rakyat, going by the incessant deaths in police custody, it is a case of having reached a breaking point.

At the end of the day, the people are the best judge of whether the police force is deserving of accolades – be it in cash or kind.

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.