Protecting the protectors

The decision to close police station gates at 10pm raises questions. While everyone has faith in the police protecting the public, have the cops lost faith in protecting themselves? That should not be the case.

ON the eve of Merdeka Day in 2017, tragedy hit the police station in Pinggiran Subang, Petaling Jaya.

A policeman, Lance Corporal Valentino Mesa, was attacked by an unknown assailant. Mesa was found dead by his colleagues who had returned from a routine patrol.

The 29-year-old Sarawakian had been slashed in the head before being shot with his own gun.

It’s been almost seven years and the case remains unsolved. Yet, the cops at the station are going about their duty as usual. The brave men in blue have not gone into hiding. They do not live in fear.

There is no reason to. Policemen know that there is danger in their work. They put their lives on the line to safeguard the rest of us. That is why they deserve the utmost respect from all of us.

So, it is almost comical that the government had to come up with a knee-jerk reaction after the latest attack at the Ulu Tiram police station in Johor on May 17.

In a lone wolf attack, a 21-year-old man had stormed into the police station and killed two constables, Ahmad Azza Fahmi Azhar, 22, and Syafiq Ahmad Said, 24. Another policeman was injured.

The man was shot dead and several others have been charged in court.

The Home Ministry has now ordered some stations to close their front gates from 10pm daily as a precautionary measure. Apparently, it is to ensure the safety of policemen on duty.

This raises questions. Who protects the civilians if the cops are staying behind closed gates for fear of attacks?

If some policemen on patrol get attacked, will we also stop patrols? And leave civilians at the mercy of thieves, robbers and terrorists?

Police stations are where people go to in an emergency, especially after 10pm. They are not just places to make police reports.

What happens if you are chased in a car by a bunch of bad people? The sage advice has always been drive straight into a police station.

But with the station locked, do they need to stop outside the gate and honk to get the attention of the policemen?

Worse, imagine if you are being chased on foot by some bad guys with parang and all. Do you also stop at the gate and holler for attention? Will the parang-wielding gangsters wait?

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s announcement about the 10pm “closing time” – he says it is to balance the role of the police station as a place for the public to lodge complaints and at the same time, police stations are also targets – has become something of a joke.

Mamak shops stay open for 24 hours, with large crowds watching television. KK Super Mart, a supermarket chain that was recently in the news for another issue, also stays open for 24 hours with little security, and so do many 7-11 outlets.

Many petrol stations operate around the clock. Even McDonalds and KFC have 24-hour outlets.

They have faith in the police keeping them safe. But the Home Ministry seems to have little faith in the police keeping themselves safe.

One netizen has even snidely suggested that the cops hire Rela volunteers to guard police stations now.

True, there have been several attacks on police stations over the years.

There was a riot by illegal motorcycle racers or mat rempit in 2012 when villagers in Teluk Bahang attacked the police station there because a policeman had thrown a helmet at the racers.

Last year, a 34-year-old man came to the Sungai Besi police station in Kuala Lumpur and splashed water on a policeman, claiming it was acid. In a struggle, he even bit off part of a policeman’s finger.

In 2001, a religious extremist group attacked the Guar Chempedak police station in Kedah in an attempt to steal weapons, resulting in injuries to two policemen.

The most famous attack on a police station happened in Batu Pahat on Oct 16, 1980.

Sixteen members of the Kumpulan Nur Zaman cult, clad in white robes and dressed like “ninjas”, came in cars and stormed from the front and back gates of the station. They slashed 23 victims, including police officers and civilians, before eight of them were killed.

The thing is, all these police stations have stayed operational despite the attacks. That’s what makes our policemen great. They are brave heroes who stay strong in the face of adversity.

They don’t have to hide. The Inspector-General of Police has also made it clear that his men will continue their duties even with the gates closed.

The question is: Do we really need to close the gates? Or should a better SOP be in place?

Police stations have sentries. So, why do they need to close the gates as well? The job of the sentries is to watch who comes past the gate. If they have the slightest suspicion, they are trained to stop the baddies.

Also, they can always call for back-up from within the station. Or do the cops not trust their own sentries?

I am told that there have been a handful who failed in their duties. If that were true, the choice of sentries should be more stringent. And their training too.

Worse, is there some security threat that the minister is not telling us about? Do the intelligence agencies have fears of an imminent attack on police stations and need to lock gates at sensitive areas to ensure such incidents do not happen?

I don’t think so. I have lots of faith in the Malaysian intelligence community. They have been ranked among the best in the world and I am sure that if there is any imminent threat, they can get to the root of the problem and nab the culprits.

So, I don’t really see the need to close the gates and get the public to knock – if that is what the minister meant.

Even army bases, which hold military arsenals, do not lock gates but have sentries to stand guard. So why do police stations even if it is just some of them – have to be different?

Sentries do make more sense. Or, the government could recruit more cops.