I refer to Jamri's comments on the recent police handling of the anti-war demonstrators in the capital over the weekend.

That the protest saw rough treatment by the police in handling a complex situation amid such a sensitive scene, was unfortunate and perhaps due to ineffective crowd control.

The situation was also made difficult as the police themselves may not be fully familiar with the type of people involved - whether there were ordinary citizens and foreigners among the huge crowd of demonstrators, or people from opposition parties or NGOs which had reacted with emotional cries of nationalism, revolution, etc. under the pretext of 'anti-war protests' against the US, Britain and Australia.

Given the above scenario, we should be fair to the police who were trying to do their job as best as they can as per instructions from their bosses. I was in the police volunteer force myself so I understand the chain of command that police constables have to obey in discharging their duties in public.

The police had to arrest some of the people at random as part of the security procedures. In capturing these culprits, the police may learn from them stuff that may shed a light o­n other security and tactical strategies.

So the police were just carrying out their duty in accordance with the legal framework of preventive rules and regulations.

However, I think Jamri should not be too emotional and openly criticise the whole police force or even YAB Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the acting premier and home affairs minister.

Of course, the writer may be a troublemaker from within the police force. This is just a conjecture and I hope the Special Branch police or CID will investigate further and determine the motive of Jamri's public outburst that was delivered courtesy of malaysiakini, all the more so since Pak Lah's credibility has been damaged in this so-called police fiasco.

Ironically, many such negative and unfortunate incidents or issues seem to occur during Pak Lah's temporary tenure at the helm when Mahathir is absent from the country.

I urge the police to investigate these facts of incidents as referred above for public interest, so that Pak Lah's leadership is not further discredited, and his leadership not undermined as the future premier.

I hope Jamri appreciates my concern as a Malay national and stops hitting our leaders below the belt without any justification. Our leaders may not be able to defend themselves in the wider interest of the Malaysian public.

Every political leader will tell o­nly half the real story and therefore allow you to make your own personal judgment o­n any national or public issue, so that he or she can rebut your views from the official perspective or point of view.

After all, all political leaders and cadres are o­nly 'Saya yang Menurut Perintah' or 'Wakil Rakyat'; or maybe they have agreed to drop the honorific title of Yang Berhormat to Yang Bertugas.