COMMENT | In mid-September 2016, the Kamiso household was rudely awakened by plainclothes policemen at 4.40am. Two men had jumped over the gates and banged on the door demanding the occupants to open it.

One person took journalist and owner Sidek upstairs to the bedroom and even insisted on going into the children’s room. One took his laptop and another took Sidek's photo in his bedroom.

He was arrested and driven to Johor Baru – supposedly where the police report was made. The police applied to remand him but thanks to activist Siti Kasim who arranged for a local lawyer to represent him, Sidek walked free.

What was his offence? Allegedly, he had insulted Islam by making remarks on the religious leader, Harun Din, who had passed on earlier. Does it constitute an offence?

The next day, the-then MP for Jelutong, Jeff Ooi felt the full wrath of an ill-informed former police chief Khalid Abu Bakar who ordered: "Surrender by noon or we come after you".

Jeff had tweeted "Adios" to Harun and the police chief without bothering to check, apparently decided it was a derogatory term.

Elsewhere, then Bersih chief Maria Chin Abdullah was arrested and held in solitary confinement "to facilitate" investigations. What was her offence? Khalid said that the police found documents that proved to be an offence under Section 124(C) of the Penal Code for attempting to commit an activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy, and under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).

Why delve into the past? Comparisons have to be done because last week, the police were accused of “not being fair” and being on a “witch hunt” when they raided the home of former premier Najib Razak’s mother - Rahah Mohammad Noah – along Jalan Eaton in Kuala Lumpur....