Furore over cop patrol car buying food at mamak restaurant reflects public confidence in force

 

A CLIP of a police patrol car receiving a ‘mystery package’ has gone viral. What were the contents of the white plastic bag that has got tongues wagging viciously? Cash for bribes? Narcotics?

No. Apparently the offending item was quite possibly a teh o ais limau and roti canai, or some similar non-criminal equivalent.

Given that it is Ramadan, this drive-thru pick-up has been seized upon by the public as more evidence of a police force that is lacking integrity, moral fibre and self-discipline. There is, of course, the assumption that the police personnel behind the wheel were Muslims. 

The matter has been viewed serious enough to prompt an official response from the Sungai Buloh police which identified the vehicle as belonging to its precinct.

Sungai Buloh police chief Superintendent Mohd Hafiz Muhammad Nor said the video which circulated on social media on Thursday (March 5) around 7.50pm showed an MPV with the registration plate SL198 passing through the middle lane of a row of shops before stopping at a mamak restaurant for 12 seconds during which a restaurant worker approached the vehicle and handed the driver two white plastic bags.

“The matter will be investigated and stern action will be taken against any personnel and officers involved,” promised Hafiz in a statement. 

“The Sungai Buloh police headquarters will not compromise with any personnel and officers who engage in misconduct that could tarnish the image of the police,” he sternly declared.

The video has sparked plenty of comments from a public that has gotten used to news of misconduct by men in uniform.

Shared on the Malaysian Gazette’s Facebook Thread, the post has generated 16.2K likes, 3.5K comments and 1.1K shares at time of writing, indicating this short clip could tarnish the image of the police force as netizens have a field day with negative insults aimed at the men in blue.

One commenter was quick to dub these police officers ‘Geng plastic’ denoting that something illegal had gone down.

Some current affairs observers cheekily suggested that if it was the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), it’d be the poor restaurant worker who would be hauled up instead of the recipients of the offending white plastic bag. 

This lack of belief in the enforcement agencies’ investigative practices was echoed in another comment reflecting public distrust of the system. 

It was also highlighted that this was nothing new, only now it is captured on video and viralled on social media.

However, there were quite a few who slammed those who made assumptions on the police officers involved. They could very well be non-Muslims, hence the outcry was over nothing. Investigate first before making unsubstantiated accusations was the underlying sentiment here.

There were also calls not to cast aspersions, especially during the holy month. Give the officers in question the benefit of doubt was the plea.

Some perplexed commenters noted, even if the officer(s) involved was Muslim, there could be valid reason why he or she is not fasting. More pertinently, the food and drink were “tapaued”, not consumed in full public view. What was the offence here?

While the police have been quick to address the issue over potential misconduct, some commenters have asked if Malaysians were becoming a society dictated by viral content. This unsatiable appetite leads to content that highlights perceived human weaknesses.

Opinions may be divided on this trending topic but at the end of the day, one commenter summed it up best – “no crime proven or committed”. – Focus Malaysia