Pak Lah's agenda for the police back in 2003

I'm going to take you on a trip down memory lane here.

On 31 October 2004, The STAR paper published a special edition outlining Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's achievements after one year in office as the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

On page 12 of the report heading "A Momentous Year", Lourdes Charles wrote:-

"Restoring and improving the image, professionalism and credibility of the Royal Malaysia Police Force was one of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's top priorities when he became Prime Minister.

"TWO months after taking over as Prime Minister Abdullah met the top 150 police officers in the country. He outlined three very pertinent points to the officers that he felt the force needed to adopt immediately. They were:-

"Change in values and mindset of every single police officer;
"To improve the efficiency and delivery system of their work; and
"Accountability and responsibility of the top brass in the force.

"Abdullah also set up an independent Royal Commission to investigate and come up with ways to enhance the professionalism of the police force. ...

"Concerned with the rising crime rate especially violent crimes and snatch theft, the Premier approved the purchase of 500 patrol cars to be used on crime prevention rounds. ...

"Abdullah also wanted all forms of organised crime to be wiped out including human trafficking for prostitution and loan sharking to be tackled with top priority. ..."

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I emphasized some words in bold for obvious reasons.

Back in January 2004, which was two months after he took over as Prime Minister on 1 November 2003, it was already observed that VIOLENT CRIMES and SNATCH THEFT were already an issue that meritted the attention and concern of the newly minted PM.

Fast forward to the present, 32 months LATER, we are still talking about how our police are unable to reduce the incidences of violent crimes and snatch theft.

IN FACT, it has gotten WORSE!

The independent Royal Commission has already done their work and submitted their report which is now probably gathering dust in some forgotten shelf.

This is beginning to sound like an old lame joke.

Pak Lah has been asking and asking everybody to WALK THE TALK for months and finally he is now ready to WALK it himself. But the question is, in which direction is he walking to? And are his colleagues walking in the same direction as he is?

Worse still, are they heading in the RIGHT direction?

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p.s. Maybe Pak Lah ought to consult with the MB from the developed state on how to maintain a tight grip in the stormiest of situations.

Perhaps then he can discard the walk the talk slogan and talk his way out of every controversy without having to walk a single step.