Policing the police?

Disgruntled expression by citizens after the second wave of 

COVID linked to free movement of politicians during the 

recent Sabah state election. This banner prompted the cops

to spring to investigate the maker of this banner.

The law (specifically the police) is supposed to serve and protect the public. They are there to maintain law and order so that the general public can perform their society-sanctioned duties - earning an honest living and caring as well as providing for the loved ones. 

Of late, these duties (by the police) have been questioned. Are they there to protect the laypeople? Is their presence purely to serve? But to serve whom? Who are their masters?

We all know that the BLM movement that stemmed from policemen's mishandling of black suspect is nothing more than a brain-child of self-serving parties trying to court anarchy to push forward their agendas. One thing led to another. Compilations of previous police brutalities over the years soon instigated people to question whether we need a police force at all. Then, the scream for defunding the police started becoming louder. Imagine a society without the men in blue to police law, order and justice. But do they mete justice? Apparently not.

Closer to home, we repeatedly see enthusiastic men-in-uniform with the excitement of a kid with a candy working around the clock, chasing all avenues to nail culprits who defamed people of stature and in pursuing microscopic shreds of evidence as the situation warrants. Apparently, their excitement gets doused when it comes to nailing down selected kidnappers.

But then...

The world is not a rose garden. There are many wicked people around. They use the evil that lurks within the crypt of their hidden mind to fulfil their hedonistic desire or shortcuts to commit the society-abhorred deadly sins. The laypeople cannot take be empowered to take power to protect themselves in times of adversity. 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. 

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Priorities change with time....

Blue Is the Warmest Colour (a.k.a La Vie d'Adèle – Chapitres 1 & 2; French)
Screenplay & Direction: Abdellatif Kechiche 

Pubescent girls in the third world are struggling with being able to attend classes, trying to release themselves from forced arranged child marriages, starvation and malnutrition, being victimised as persona non grata by medieval man made laws and suppressive traditions. Here, in the modern French society they have long ago encountered, survived and successfully left these worries to rot in their past. Even then, man being man, are still dogged with other problems.

This multiple award winning French film, made by a Tunisian born French director had been lambasted the world by subordinates and film critiques; the subordinates over working conditions - but once the film started collecting accolades, they relented; the critiques for its overtly graphic depiction of acts of passion.

Having surpassed all their third world counterparts' woes, French girls have other stresses to handle. The coming of age film of a 18 year old Adèle shows a rather unhappily confused high school student. Even though she has the liberty to move around and dress as she pleases, there is something to she cannot seem to put her hand on. She has a loving working class family, she smokes, she drinks and has occasional sexual trysts, something is still missing. That was, until she was kissed by her mate and she liked it. About the same time, she is smitten by a undergraduate girl, Emma, who is openly lesbian.

It slowly develops into a full fledged love affair which carried on a couple of years. It does not stand the test of time as Adèle starts two timing as she finds herself inadequate in the company of Emma's intellectual friends.

It is intriguing to fathom why Emma is so upset about infidelity. After all they seem to have broken all man made law- premarital, extramarital unions, hedonism, acts against laws of nature and so on, so what is it in a bit of infidelity?

Putting all that high moral aside, the film can actually praised for its artistic expression of two individuals deeply in love and the surreal depiction of the uncertainties of young girls who not only have to secure a future for themselves and find the primal need in all of us called love!

P/S: Growing up in Malaysia in the 70s, I was convinced by the propaganda news portals and the powers that be that we, Malaysia, were special. We were told that we were the only melting pot of potpourri of cultures living harmoniously under the single flag. Only in the fall of 1994, was I convinced that it was all hogwash. The whole world is a melting pot of cultures. There is no such thing as a homogenous society any more. The world is borderless. Take this film for example. See how easy this Tunisian born blends in the French society, language and share the French values.