Fighting an unreasonable authority

Friday June 16, 2006

Fighting an unreasonable authority

I refer to your editorial “Ethics and police brutality” and Anil Netto’s “IPCMC and the Kingdom” both in Herald,June 11,2006.

Yes, police brutality is on the increase in our country and it must be stopped immediately, but how. Your suggestion for an ethics commission to formulate a code of ethics for the police force, a code not based on the ethics of just one majority religion but also on those of other religions as well is definitely the right solution. The problem is not that we not have such code. We do have many codes of ethics, many rules and even laws, but the authorities refuse to abide by them when certain parties are involved.

Some glaring examples are the disruption of the forum by Article 11 in Penang, the objection and even threat to the formation of the Inter-Faith Council (IFC), the demolition of temples and denial of our rights to construct our places of worship.

Equally disturbing is the reaction of the police to the proposed Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).This was recommended by the Royal Commission, backed by the government, none other than the prime minister himself and the majority of the people, yet the police can refuse to accept it.

In this scenario of blatant disregard for standard norms, where do we stand in our struggle to attain our rights as the minority group?

We are faced with an all powerful authority that refuses to see reason and follow the universally accepted rules. Even the federal constitution is ignored. We have reached the crossroads and unsure what course of action to take next.

I believe Jesus has shown us the way to overcome our predicament through his passion. He took all the insult, humiliation, persecution and finally death on the cross with great humility, patience and forgiveness.

The most recent personality of our time, Mother Teresa, succeeded in applying those virtues in her life. Faced with great opposition from the Church itself and the array of the forces of hate, violence and greed, she stood firmly with her unshakable faith in Christ who brought her salvation.

Christ has given us his most powerful weapon, Love, hidden in the depths of our hearts. We have to search and continue building on it and extend that to our “enemies” who may ridicule and “persecute” us. They may appear unreasonable or even cruel now but with perseverance and unwavering faith in Christ, that Love, will become instruments of justice, peace and love in the world.

Dr.Chris Anthony