What to do if caught by police

Sylvia gave me the link to this interesting site which as guidelines on what you should do if ever caught by the police (touch wood - never!).

http://ricecooker.kerbau.com/?p=188

That's the link to the guidelines. It's very helpful as I presume many of us do not know of our basic rights and would be too terrified to do anything except follow whatever the police asks us to do if ever in such a situation.

It's a real shame that we as Malaysian citizens have this fear of the police who are sworn to protect us. Ironic, isn't it? We pay this taskforce to patrol our neighbourhood, to protect us from harm and yet we are so scared of them and allow them to bully, threaten and demand bribes from us. I'm not sure about everyone else but for me, whenever I see a policeman on the road, my heart starts pounding and I will make sure to avoid any form of contact with the policeman. This is because I've been in a situation where I've been 'violated' during a roadblock and I was just asking the policeman for directions to the nearest petrol station as my tank was really empty. What happened was the policeman just stuck his head in the window on the pretext of giving me directions but his eyes were somewhere else. Right down my shirt. Bloody hell. I just drove away feeling extremely violated. I know it's a 'small' matter but it really isn't to me. And everytime there's a roadblock, I avoid as much conversation with the policeman as much as possible when they ask me to roll down the window and start asking me where I've been, why am I out so late etc. It's just annoying that they try to intimidate you or expect you to 'abang' them. It seems as if they are invincible with the uniform on and I suppose from their point of view, it's true. All of us are so afraid of them that we will do whatever they ask us to. We are so afraid of being arrested even though we haven't done anything wrong that we just give them money in the hopes of just being able to drive away. And we are also so afraid of making reports against a police officer who has done us wrong as we know that firstly, nothing is going to happen. Secondly, they're all cronies so they will somehow put the blame on you instead and thirdly, they might mark you and start harassing you. It's no wonder that we're so wary of the police.
And it's a real shame that the majority of cops are so corrupt that they overshadow the 'good' cops who really want to do a good job. I'm sure the whole police force is not corrupt and there are some who are truly interested in being a cop than being a cop who can intimidate innocent citizens.
In a way, the exposure of this whole 'earsquats' issue is good as it has brought the spotlight onto the police force and made them aware that they are not as invincible as they think they are. No doubt I do not necessarily agree with the way the issue has been approached but at least something is being done about it. And I also don't agree that ear squats is normal procedure for a body cavity check. Honestly, if I'm going to hide something in my body, I'd stuff it up my arsehole and no amount of earsquats is going to make it drop out. It's just something the police make you do to intimidate and humiliate you. Even if it's 'normal' procedure and everyone goes through it, at least have the decency to do it in a secured room to ensure privacy.
All of us as citizens should stand up and start by knowing our rights and that we can't be pushed around by a uniform. The problem is when we're so afraid and we don't speak out, everything gets swept under the rug which gives the police more power and boldness to continue their tactics.

I hope things will change after this issue. More transparency. More honesty. Less corruption. Less cover-ups. But what are the chances of that happening? As it is now, the issue appears to be dying down already. And pretty soon, Malaysians will do what they do best. Forget it ever happened.