Well, the subject which has led me to this train of thought is, how much, have we as a nation, experienced personal growth. Personal growth encompasses aspects like ethics, honor, dignity, values, compassion, justice, civility etc.. You know, the abstract stuff. So how much have we as human beings experienced growth which is fit to be measured up against our country's material growth???
This scenario was be likened to giving a monkey in a zoo a flower. The zoo represents our country, a comfortable, safe and much more high tech habitat compared to the jungle. The monkey with the flower, represents us. Just because the monkey lives in the zoo now, it doesn't necessarily means that he/she would appreciate the flower any much more than when she was living in the wild. Why is that? because, it's just a monkey which has not been trained to match up to the standards of the zoo. The monkey wasn't taught that when he is given something nice, he does not stamp on it, eat it, smash it like how it previously did while living in the wild.
I would like to liken the RELA unit of our country to the monkeys in the zoo who was given a flower. I can't think of a better comparison. With the rising amount of people in the country joining the RELA for that ego and power trip, we will all soon be like the monkeys in the zoo... enjoy this article... I swear.. it's quite hilarious.
With powers to crack down on illegal foreign workers, Rela, the People’s Voluntary Corp, is enjoying a new lease of life. But it has found itself in the news for the wrong reasons with its members being accused of beating up illegal workers, stealing from them and detaining legitimate foreign tourists. Rela director-general Datuk Zaidon Asmuni speaks to Sunday Staron the role of the voluntary body.
Rela was formed on Jan 11, 1972 after the May 13, 1969, incident. The Government felt Rela was one way to unite the rakyat alongside Rukun Tetangga and the National Unity Ministry. People of all races, both male and female, can be members of Rela.
These are excerpts from an interview done by The Star in June 2007 with Datuk Zaidon Asmuni, the Director-General of RELA. The link to the full article is at the end of the page:
What is Rela's strength?
We have 475,000 members. One hundred thousand are very active, which means that if we just call, 100,000 will easily turn up.
How does one join Rela?
It's simple. Any citizen aged 16 can apply to become a Rela member.
Do Rela officers have to be in uniform for their operations?
The police have their uniform but they seldom wear it in a (covert) operation. It's the same with Rela. In a group of 100 Rela volunteers, maybe 10 will be in plain clothes. If we all go in wearing the Rela uniform, the foreign illegal workers will run away.
So normally we ask 10 or 15 in plain clothes to go in first. Then, within half an hour, we cordon off the place. In an operation of 100 men, only one or two are officers and carry guns. The rest are armed with a chota. We give them a stick or two to protect themselves against attacks from immigrants. There have been a few incidents but not very serious ones...... (cont.)
There have been a number of cases of abuse and Rela members stealing and hitting detainees.
To me, the number of abuses is very small compared to the number of operations. I have found the walloping of illegal workers is actually in response to something that happened. If they give full co-operation when we go into a rumah kongsi, I don't think the Rela members will start hitting them "for fun".
But the tendency is for the illegal workers to start climbing out the windows and up the roof to escape. This makes Rela members angry. Sometimes it is the legal foreign workers or employers who get angry. They scold us, question the Rela powers and threaten to call the police.
The Rela members are just ordinary people. Threatening them with the police and questioning their powers make them angry ...(cont.)
What kind of training is provided for Rela members?
First they have to be registered members. We have a 10-day basic training course. We want to make it compulsory but with 475,000 members, we can only cater for 150 or 200 at one time. So they learn from the operations.
Does Rela check the background of members?
We don't do that now because we want to encourage people to join us. If a person has a bad record, then we won't take him and may send his name to the police. If we send in 475,000 names for the police to check, it would be too time-consuming. They have other more pressing priorities.
What about the case of the Indian film crew member Rela detained that got the Tourism Minister all riled up?
The Indian crew member was walking through Petaling Street at 9.30pm. If it's a Mat Salleh (Caucasian), it would be easy because we would know he is a tourist for sure. But for others, we have to check. Under the law, all foreigners have to carry their passport or travel document with them all the time... (cont.)Rela has been criticised for being insensitive to human rights. There was even a call for it to be disbanded.
No way! Just because of one or two naughty members, surely we are not going to disband Rela. If a policeman robs, you charge him. You do not disband the police force for one person's abuse. For Rela, if a member abuses his power, I will sack him. But the others can carry on.
Since late last year, we have been working very closely with Suhakam and they have held talks with Rela members and officers. It's good because at least we have knowledge on basic human rights. But which one do you want? Security or human rights? If we can, of course we want both.
....The link to the full article is here: http://thestar.com.my/news
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