Too Little, Too Late

This morning I came across the headlines of a leading daily where the PM warned all parties of the dangers in stoking racial conflict through the broadcast or print media, followed by a stern warning from the Deputy IGP. All this while I would have thought the Police and the authorities were and should have been monitoring this transgression for quite some time, and rather than issuing further warnings, action to detain the persons who had violated the law should have been taken not now but a long time ago. When people thought that raising sensitive issues were being tolerated, especially after the March 08 General Election results in several State Govt being lost by the BN, the sword of Damocles which was usually hanging over the heads of those who dared to incite racial feelings was completely absent. If the PM had been more circumspect about the Sedition Act, the blogger, Raja Petra Kamarudin should have been detained and kept in Kamunting months ago, even before the GE! I have warned RPK about this possibility, but he was emboldened by being merely asked to appear at the Dang Wangi Police Station to get his statement recorded. If Dr M was in the driver's seat, RPK would have no chance in causing a lot of uneasiness not only amongst the Malays but also between the major ethnic groups in this country. It's high time that the authorities begin to flex it's muscle and show the people that race relations is not something that you can meddle with, especially when blatant remarks and racist statements are being made in public. The force of law should have been brought to bear on those who clearly violated the Sedition Act, and if needs be invoke the Internal Security Act. Please do not wait for the Chief of the Armed Forces to make a statement as if he's the IGP who's responsible for maintenance of Public Order.It would have been appropriate for the Police to make such a statement, and when people began to step outside their boundary it spells confusion for the people. Let this be a lesson in not letting a situation to escalate because of the lack of sensitivity by the powers that be, and perhaps the warning is too little too late for people to take it seriously!