vox populi small thumbnail'Sulaiman, it's not as simple as that. The people do not take as disrespecting any law a peaceful rally or wearing yellow T-shirts.'

'FRU personnel don't use excessive force'

AkuMelayuIslam: "What we saw on July 9 was that the demonstrators had violated and shown disrespect to the law, and our men in blue were just carrying out their duties as required... as simple as that," said retired FRU commander Sulaiman Menga Din.

Sulaiman, it's not as simple as that. The people do not take as disrespecting any law a peaceful rally or wearing yellow T-shirts.

As for allowing those injured to go for medical treatment, they should not have been injured in the first place.

KSD: Kicking a protester sitting peacefully on a road with tough standard issue boots is not excessive force? Kicking and punching arrested protesters as they are led through a gauntlet of FRU personnel is not excessive force? Violently kicking an arrested protester lying on the ground is not excessive force?

Gerard Samuel Vijayan: What law? The Police Act is an ass of a law. The government cannot simply ban all public gatherings, assemblies and protests at its own whims and fancies.

Are we a democracy or a benign dictatorship with faulty elections every five years? So between elections, the people are mere slaves of the government? The police must remember that they, like the government, are servants of the people. We are your paymasters, not Najib Razak, Rosmah Mansor or the BN.

We expect the police to respond to the demands of the people by not simply firing tear gas and water cannons or baton charging and beating protestors who are peaceful and legitimately expressing the right to freedom of assembly, movement and speech as enshrined in the constitution.

The constitution is not a piece of paper that the BN and police can trample on as and when they like simply because the government feels threatened. A government that no longer serves the people but instead wants to lord over the people deserves to be thrown out of office.

Joker: So I guess what this means that as long as the FRU and police didn't bash up anyone physically, it is alright. Never mind the painful and severe reaction caused by tear gas and chemical-laced water shot at high pressure from a water cannon.

I guess we are also to dismiss the 'isolated' incidents where marchers were indeed bloodied and injured to the point of requiring stitches and hospitalisation since 'in the heat of the moment' anything can happen.

Sulaiman, you should participate in future rallies and bring along a video camera to help your former comrade-in-arms prove their professionalism. Oh, please remember to stand among the civilian crowd, not with the FRU.

Oscar Kilo: The problem is not that the police took action. The problem is that the police are being used to repress the legitimate voice of the people. If the police really want to be professional, they should just separate rival groups, and only take action if the crowd gets rowdy.

Quigonbond: I find it ticklish that those in government tend to use what's called the "slippery slope" argument to justify their actions.

If there's one demonstration, there'll be no end to demonstrations. If he's a demonstrator, he must be a commie, Christian plotter, foreign agent, Jewish agent, sodomiser, prostitute patron, etc.

And now we have a new one - if the FRU were trained to use excessive force, many folks would have ended up in the hospital. Wow, that's really missing the point - no one is saying all of the FRU were involved in the violence.

The police said they are nearing completion of their investigation, but no one from the Bar Council or Bersih has been questioned. It goes to show this is probably a mocked-up investigation just for show to undiscerning folks out there.

James Dean: I have a cousin who was a senior police officer before his retirement some years ago. He was an OCPD at one of the police district in KL. Before he retired, we used to have arguments about police behaviour whenever we meet on family occasions.

One day during a visit to our aunt, he said to me, "I really can't see the kind of corruption and bad attitude of some of our police officers until I have left the police force."

Sulaiman, a lot of water had flowed under the bridge since you left the FRU.

140V: Sulaiman, shooting tear gas into enclosed area, shooting it at eye-level into the crowd and shooting into a hospital compound - are these part of your standard operating procedures?

Cala: Sulaiman is arguing that FRU personnel had used minimal force on July 9. Had they been more brutal, more would have been injured, he claims.

But talking at a higher plane, why should not Bersih 2.0 be given an opportunity to hold a rally at Stadium Merdeka in the first place? It is the fear in the eyes of the regime that any form of demonstration is necessarily bad.

Put it simply, the Umno-led BN regime has no confidence to face its detractors. Is that not an admission of guilt?

Yh Soon: Sulaiman, I pity you because you did not speak from your conscience. Thousands of photos, video clips and eye-witnesses have proved how the FRU and police had handled the peaceful crowds with excessive force.
A truth is still a truth, no matter how it was twisted.

Ferdtan: We don't need a retired FRU commander to tell us what we saw in the many video clips that the police were using excessive force on the protesters.

We saw clearly what happened; and the police cannot hide, whatever extenuating circumstances you may cite. For the police to repair the damage done to their reputation, it needs more than getting a retired officer to do damage control.

For a start - just admit the mishandling of the Bersih protesters and, yes, apologise. That way, you may gain back a little respect from the rakyat.

Karma: Does firing eight to 10 rounds of tear gas at one go necessary to disperse a crowd? Is it necessary for many police officers to pin down one person and step on him? Is that what you call minimal force?

Until now, no one give any good reason as to why there was a need to fire tear gas in the KL Sentral where all the opposition and Bersih 2.0 leaders were moving around, as well as why tear gas canisters were aimed directly at the head.

Many people were injured and blood flowed. Are these not the result of police action?

Chai Kian Hee: What Sulaiman is saying is that FRU could have whacked the hell out of the demonstrators if they want to and we should be grateful that they haven't - just like a slave should be grateful to the master for just slapping instead of whipping even though the slave has done no wrong.

 

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