WHAT IS IN THE WORD……..SORRY?

Why is it so difficult to say sorry? The IGP says that the police will not apologies to the parents of school boy Aminulrasyid Amzah who was shot dead by the police late last month in Shah Alam. The parents of Aminulrasyid has demanded an apology from the police for alleging that Aminulrasyid was a suspected criminal, and that the IGP has refused to apologies citing that it could have legal implication, since the case is now with the courts.

Please forgive my ignorance and not being a lawyer, I do not understand what does the IGP means that by apologizing, they are legal implication. Is the IGP implying that by saying sorry, the police are deemed to have admitted to the murder? Or by saying sorry, it gives the parents of Aminulrasyid an advantage in court to prosecute the police for alleged murder? Or by saying sorry, the IGP has shamed the entire police force by giving in to the demands of an aggrieved mother?

My understanding of the word SORRY, I think differs from that of the IGP. As a child, my parents (and I believe that of the parents of the IGP) taught me to say sorry for every mistake that I make, regardless of whether the mistake was made deliberately or otherwise. I am told that saying sorry is to show humbleness, and an act of showing remorse. It does not really matter the magnitude of the mistake made, and how slighted the person can be. But by saying sorry upon realizing that a mistake has been made to someone, any normal person would have opened their hearts and willingly accept the apology.

I think the IGP is just too stubborn and has little remorse for the inadvertent failure of his own people. He seems not having the feeling of guilt that his men has committed a grievous mistake (rightfully or wrongfully), and that the mother of the dead victim has lost a dear son. Mind you, some mothers would go berserk upon losing someone dear, what more if being shot by the police.

The IGP opted to defend his men (rightfully or wrongfully) for an act that most would consider it too excessive. The gun is certainly not a toy. It kills and the user must know this. Letting loose a shot, or several shots deliberately aim at someone is an act intended to cause hurt or at worse death to someone. The question that I would like to pose is whether shooting is the only option to the policeman, when he suspects a criminal. Even if a crime has occurred, is shooting the criminal dead the correct cause of action? What if the crime is just stealing food from a food stall? Is death the only sentence befitting the crime of stealing food? I really do not know, but I think the policeman need to be more conscious and cautious of his action, and that what he does is not deemed too excessive. I think, this is where most policeman have failed, and that failure I presume lies in their training i.e. to be thoroughly trained to recognise how and what to act within the bounds of their powers.

By not willing to apologies, I hope the IGP has not set a bad precedence to the younger generation of police officers and ranks where the word sorry has little meaning and value. I hope too that our children and grandchildren do not take the example of the IGP where saying SORRY, seems no longer a word of humility.

CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION