The establishment of an armed, uniformed national police force is a constant danger to the citizens of a democracy. This force, though small, can become a law unto itself, beyond the effective control of any civilian supervising authority.

A national police force is a priority for conqueror, colonising power, or aspiring dictatorship. Once organised, a national police justifies continuing public support on claims that all law and order depend on their constant vigilance and presence. Unacceptable police behaviour is excused or denied on the same grounds. The public is naturally skeptical of such claims.

When colonial powers transfer power back to native people, there is always a colonial faction which opposes, saying, "They are not ready for independence." They argue that the white man's burden of bringing civilisation requires establishment of a self- perpetuating government which has a reasonable chance for success. This implies sufficient training in essential services is missing, to be revealed by withdrawal of the colonial overlords.

Human rights will not be respected. Standards of truth and honesty will evaporate. Leaders with personal ambition will capture the machinery of democratic government, establishing themselves permanently in power. Often this view was correct.

The English colonial office is filled with records of civil planning in numerous countries around the world. Many prior colonies are now active member countries of the Commonwealth, and attempt to uphold the uniform standards of honesty and fair play in government service introduced by the English during the colonial period.

Malaysia was until recently a colony of England. The ties formed are still fairly strong, though recent efforts to establish purely Asian trading zones, such as ASEAN, must be seen as a rejection of this heritage. The denial of membership to the two Commonwealth neighbors, Australia and New Zealand, appear as further flight from founding fraternity. The move toward trading turned inward illustrates both a fundamental ignorance of the benefits of free international trade and a defensive insistence on a fabled Asian Way of dark and deteriorated accountability, where funds dutifully disappear into a distant demesne.

Many Malaysian lawyers and judges were trained in the universtities of England in preparation for independence. When executive power was eventually transferred, standards deteriorated as predicted by the pessimists. The people entrusted with nurturing the fledgling democracy are incapable of maintaining a level of integrity and competence put in place by the English during the colonial period. Service in the Malaysian civil service does not carry the prestige it once did.

Malaysia is now governed by petty men, propped in place by a national police. The prime minister is nothing if not a dictator. He refuses to resign in spite of convincing evidence that he is directly responsible for a totally corrupt administration. The existing laws do not allow his peaceful removal, though he could not survive a vote of confidence. He smugly esconces himself among the national riches in defiance of a growing challenge.

Acting through his disingenuous deputy, he controls the various branches of the national police force. He has at his command execution squads, riot control cadres, professional perjurers, and an elaborate espionage system. Paid infiltrators populate all opposition movements. Trained torture teams test the temper of trapped traitors. They use psychological warfare methods, developed to combat the communist threat, turned now to civilian mind control. There is an elaborate prison system to ensnare and restrict anyone with courage and leadership.

The newspapers and TV are active participants in the effort to first conceal, then crinkle the daily fare. They create a campaign of misinformation to create common confusion, knowingly misinforming the public. Failure to fault even the flimsiest flaw silouettes a sickening sycophancy. The public refuses to cooperate in this disgusting display. The melting market value of major media markers merits minor mention.

So long as the economy muddles along without collapse, the prime minister may make more mess, but the failing efficiency of falsity and fiduciary unfitness are a funnel to falling fortune. Rather than trust trained and talented executives, the prime minister has chosen loyalty over ethics, surrounding himself with henchmen rather than statesmen. For a time this technique threw a twinkle of tinsel.

The national police refuse to entertain accusations against themselves or their political bosses, nor associated family and business friends. There is no feeling for a higher duty or standard. The training at the academy does not prepare cadets for the disillusionment soon to come. The situation is obvious to all, and no youth with self respect will willingly join such an enterprise. Recent reports reveal the existing racial imbalance in the police force remains because youth of Chinese and Indian descent hold police service in low regard.

Malaysia, like Indonesia, is faced with the tiresome task of taking to tatters a toady national police force and a judiciary bloated by bending to buttress below-bottom benchmarks. For Malaysia, there seems but two choices. Invite the startchy English colonisers back for retraining and a re-start, or dismantling the national police in favor of smaller local police departments coming under close and continuous scrutiny by a competent civilian commission, composed of community councilmen.

Neither is difficult. The English would be happy to provide assistance, if they were offered sufficient inducement, such as a cigarette or other dadah monoply. The second option, of local control, certainly seems simple.

Rigid resistance to reform will arise from the prime minister and his co-conspirators, who fear a future fraught with forfeit. The police puppets will resist any diminution of power to the last ranking officer with two months till retirement.

The national police of Malaysia are the instruments of our tyranny. They know it. The public knows it. They have the guns, but the people have the power of numbers. It is a very uneven balance. When the people are united in defiance the police must respect the public's wishes.

May they resign gracefully. After all, it is family they face, not a sea of strangers.

Forced to choose, will the national policeman or policewoman protect corrupt politicians or use their guns to shield their brothers? The answer is obvious. Let the the police then resign the field with dignity, but resign the field they must.

In these tense times, let none choose wrongly.

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