To Ear Squat or not to Ear Squat ?

Ear Squatting.

What a Childish act. Ear Squatting reminded me of my Primary School days. The preferred method of our Teachers to dish out self castigating exercises to unruly rural School children. It was in those times, where rainy mornings also meant you had to remove your canvass Bata Shoes and white socks (socks was optional only if your parents were well off), whilst negotiating a slippery walk to Primary School at the crack of dawn, in order to avoid the infamous "Ketuk Ketampi" exercises. On those mornings, I'd go po faced and barefoot, knowing that suffering a little bit meant avoiding public humiliation later on. Life was simple and choices were few. And our Teachers, all seeing and all knowing, always keeping a hawkish eye on all 550 of us. In a way, I missed them a lot. A rural School in a small Town, where foggy early mornings and getting to class by 6.20 am was the norm.

These days, that humiliating punishment takes on an entirely different meaning. What began as a simple deterrent to unruly and mischievous behaviour graduated to a whole International Class of its own. One involving the Prime Minister publicly apologising to the Chinese Government, a Home Minister expressing his outrage on the impartial Chinese Media, a known Junior Minister mouthing off right wing obscenities at Chinese Tourists, a dumb founded Police Chief, a demure Police Officer and a young lady forced to undergo various degrees of degrading exercises in a Police Station.

Sex, lies and VideoMobile phones is what I've got to say to this sorry little episode. What do you achieve by forcing naked detainees to undergo a humiliating treatment in a Police lock up ? Nothing is my reply, and in this case, quite a lot more damage not just to the Service, but also to the Government of the Day, and the good standing of the Nation.

The Police have a known range of methods as regards "Interviews" and "Treatment" in Stations and Lockups, but to this day, nobody bats an eyelid, because the public and the government allows this to take place, without question.

Until:

The Video emerged. A Nation embarrassed. A Prime Minister choked. A Police Service caught like a rabbit in the headlights of an oncoming 18 Wheeler. And a simple exercise made famous by a female detainee. I suppose this is what its come down to. Either Malaysian Authorities distance themselves now from what has happened or face the music, and judging from the Prime Minister's public statements, a very public inquiry is now on the way to finish off what is now left of a shamed Police Service. Heads must roll, so says our Hegemon. And with each passing day, the fourth estate, enjoys a field day reporting the more unsavoury details of what really went on in that episode.

I wait with dimming interest.