YOURSAY ‘It's sickening of the police to do this. Can't they wait till the next morning to question Pak Samad, if at all it is necessary?'

Ambiga: How can they treat Pak Samad like this?

Lin Wenquan: These Umno minions dared not pick on someone their own size but chose to harass a frail old man at midnight.

You may have the right to arrest anyone at anytime but where is your humanity for no less than a national icon of the Malay language who chose to speak for justice for all Malaysians?

National laureate A Samad Said (Pak Samad) has made himself available all this while, yet the bungling police honcho demonised him and accused him of hiding to evade arrest.

Would they have done the same to those Umno-sponsored goons like Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali and Universiti Pertahanan Nasional lecturer Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, who openly make statements to sow hatred.

No. If at all, they get invited to Bukit Aman for teh tarik and small talk. It's audacious to even hint of taking away his titles.

Pak Samad doesn't need the titles to ‘cari makan' (eke out a living) whereas others need them to sustain their crass and indecent lifestyle. You can take them back, but Pak Samad will always have the respect of us as a true patriotic Malaysian.

May God give him the strength, in the autumn of his life, to fight against the evil forces.

Odin: A Samad Said is 81 years old, fragile, petit. He has not committed any violent crime. Is it too much to expect him to be treated in a civilised manner?

Taking him out (arresting him) at past midnight and returning him in the ungodly hours of the morning would be totally unacceptable in a civilised society.

Nil: Why was Pak Samad dragged into a police station at 12.30am, then pushed out at 2.30am?

Why can't he be taken to the police station at a more appropriate and humane time, say, after breakfast at 10am then released at 12.30pm in time for lunch?

Even if he is guilty, compassion should be shown to an elderly man of 80 plus.

Progressive: The police arresting a person of such stature, respect and a nationalist at 12.30am is ‘biadap' (rude) and totally unacceptable.

An apology is in order from the home minister himself. Are some Umno Malays losing their core Malay values? I wonder.

Ferdtan: It is a disgrace that the police treated our national hero, a national laureate, like a common criminal. The police came in the wee hours of the morning, not unlike a terrorist raid, to arrest an old man.

He had just replied to police chief Khalid Abu Bakar that he was at all material time at home and was not in hiding ; so why did the police conduct a ‘swat-like terrorism operation' raid on him?

The BN government through the police thought that by harassing him he would give up his fight for the people. How wrong can they be? This ugly incident, with the love and support of the Malaysians, would galvanise him into a lifetime fight. BN leaders will rue this day for ill-treating an iconic national hero.

There are two separate issues here; one is the flying of the Sang Saka Malaya flag and the other our national flag. How can flying another flag (not belonging to any hostile country) be considered as disrespect?

Did they make a call to replace our national flag? It was to make a point that Sang Saka Malaya is not forgotten. No law had been broken. So what's next?

If during the Merdeka commemoration event, an Umno member was to bring along the Umno flag, is it considered as disrespect? No?

Anonymous_3ee4: What little respect I had for the police has been flushed down the toilet. Pak Samad is a national icon, a living legend in his own time, and to treat him in this manner is beyond belief.

People Is The Boss: Common sense - Malaysia's status as a federal country will not be threatened slightly by flying the Sang Saka Malaya flag . It's just an act of commemoration.

Apa Ini?: The old man said, "Here I am, I haven't been hiding." And these big strong police officers steal out in the dark of night and capture their diminutive prey like he was (Osama) bin Laden.

Kacang: It's sickening of the police. Can't they wait till the next morning to question Pak Samad, if at all it is necessary? This is tantamount to abuse of power.

RakyatBiasa: It is people like Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga and Pak Samad who make us feel proud to be Malaysians. Umno will never understand the true meaning of "being a Malaysian" if they can't even be respectful of fellow human beings.

Thank you Ambiga, Pak Samad and the many activists who bring out the true Malaysian in us. You are our heroes.

Haveagreatday: Yes Ambiga, give those arrogant idiots a good dressing down. Yet, sadly I'm sure they are people with no conscience nor sense of moral shame.

ACR: To show who is boss, they resort to actions like these. Remember the balaclava-clad ambush to arrest former DPM Anwar Ibrahim in 1998? Same line of thinking here - detain an old man at 12.30am.

Though he is a national laureate, some Malays are ever ready to suggest the stripping of his citizenship and so-called Malay 'rights' groups would not squeak.

Thinkingmachine: The detention of national laureate A Samad Said is the saddest thing that can happen. Don't you young people have any respect for this wise old man. Remember, we cannot change a man like Samad Said. This is absolutely disgusting. Please apologise.

Oriole: Malaysia today is a nation that bullies school children and the elderly, and just around the time the country celebrates Merdeka from British rule. What is there to be proud about?

Senior citizen: Let me make myself very clear. Pak Samad is a national laureate. That title itself is self explanatory. Period. Not anyone can be a national laureate. It involves wisdom and intellect, sobriety and decency. This is found in Pak Samad.

Gen2indian: Ambiga, we are desperately in need of external help. Justice will never happen in Malaysia with every institution compromised.

Perhaps madam, you could whisper the going-ons here in Michelle Obama's ear as her hubby, the president of the United States, will be visiting our shores in October.

Tao Student: The more they ill treat the respected ‘bangsawan', the more votes for BN will lose. The police force in fact is the biggest election campaigner for Pakatan Rakyat. If you don't believe me, ask the people around you if the police play vital role in discrediting the BN government.

Apart from their investigations, the fact that Pak Samad was detained in the wee hours of the morning is questionable. Why midnight? Was there no better option? We have reasons to believe the act is malignant.

Clever voter: There is a big gap between those who can think and those who cannot think. Sadly the latter are the ones in power. That is tragic.

Kuasa Rakyat: You know what they say - only those who are afraid and who do wrong carry out their deeds in the dark.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now .