The formation of a royal commission to examine the police force is timely. Crime is at an all time high, and complaints against the police warrants further investigation by an independent body.

But as we all know inquiries are only as effective as the people doing the investigations; among other things, their powers to call witness and access to information, the results they achieve and the government's willingness to implement their recommendations.

It is not unknown for commissions of inquiry to be nothing but a whitewash. For this reason, any commission to investigate such an important institution as the police force must have an effective terms of reference with special concern for the public interest, credible chairperson and commissioners, and more importantly be above politics. It should result in the prosecution of those who have broken the law. Otherwise, it will be a counter-productive exercise.

Let us hope that the emphasis on truth and justice the new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi appears to have placed on his administration will be the turning point in Malaysian politics and result in inquiries into other controversial and shady areas. In his pursuit of truth and justice he will not lack supporters.

More than any other institution, the police holds the key to the country's progress. Their actions affect more Malaysians than any other institution. Not all police personnel are culpable or corrupt. The commission will vindicate many and expose those who have let the country and themselves down, and hopefully end their corrupt ways.

Unless the government is serious and is seen to be willing to take the bull by its horns, it will be business as usual when the dust settles. For too long the police have been a law unto themselves. Malaysians are familiar with their shortcomings, in their handling of individual cases, and as a whole.

The culture of corruption within the force is almost legendary. Many Malaysians have an anecdote of some act of police corruption. But as I believe that it takes two to tango, the rakyat must share the blame. If citizens do not bribe the police for minor traffic infringements, people will not take the easy route out of their problems and do the right thing, then corruption will not occur.

The culture of violence in the force is also a concern. The number of deaths in custody that we read in the dailies is disconcerting. Police brutality achieved international infamy when former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's black eye was beamed through the television and into our living rooms. It was a black-eye day for the country. It confirmed for many that affairs in the country were conducted like in a police state.

Accounts of police torture and violence suffered by ISA detainees expose some very un-Islamic practices condoned by a government that claims to govern an Islamic state. It is such glaring inconsistencies that cause justice-minded Malaysians to fall into the arms of the opposition such as PAS.

Until I saw Malaysian police personnel kicking, punching and pulling women's hair on television during the heady days of the Reformasi demonstrations, I thought it was only the Los Angeles cops who bashed their citizens.

There is an obvious urgent need to re-educate the police that they do not have a God-given right to assault suspects and detainees. Sometimes I wonder if the police understand their functions, rights and responsibilities and those of the citizenry. I wonder what they learn in police school?

But cops are human, fallible and do commit the crimes they arrest others for. That is why the media plays an important role in checking police brutality. In the absence of an effective internal affairs unit that the public trusts, they provide an avenue to vent complaints.

The difference between police brutality, for example, in Australia or America, and Malaysia, is that public complaints stand a greater chance of being redressed in the former than latter. Take the recently aired BBC television documentary that exposed the disturbing level of racism among police recruits in a British metropolitan police force. The documentary is now the subject of police investigations and no doubt there will be the usual public outcry. But a whistleblower in Malaysia risks being prosecuted or persecuted instead.

Checks and balances in Western countries ensure the public is protected. They are needed not only against the police but all public officers. For this reason, it will not hurt if there is a hotline to the Home Minister for public complaints. A record of all complaints with their resolutions should be made available to all members of parliament.

What is also important is for the police to be independent of political patronage and pressure. In theory, the police are supposed to be neutral but in practice, we see them deployed as if they were servants of the ruling political party. When the police behave as such, they bring their profession into disrepute. When public confidence in the police or judges dissipates, they will no longer depend on the rule of law and are more likely to resort to their own methods to obtain justice, sometimes with tragic results.

But good intentions and procedures are only as good as its efficient implementation.

While Malaysia has made good economic progress, it is time attention is given to redressing the many shortcomings in public institutions. More than any other Malaysian leader in recent times, Abdullah has set a good example by insisting on truth as the working principle. I am sure every Malaysian is behind him.

I just hope he will make it. I say this in recollection of his predecessor's ' bersih, cekap dan amanah ' slogan that got lost among the mega projects and the boom times of the late eighties and early nineties.

Anyone can build tall buildings and long roads but it takes a special kind of person to be a good, selfless leader, a true servant of the people, a great reformer.