Of course, policemen can vote for Opposition

This blogger is for IPCMC.

He also consistently condemns brutalities, atrocities and abuses of power committed by the police, not only now but since long time ago. It is also certainly wrong for any policemen or police officers to exploit the name or facilities of the institution or corporate body of the police to be a self-interested lobby group or the front organisation of any political parties, including Umno Baru or MCA.

However, given all these, this blogger wishes also to reaffirm one fundamental democratic principle: individual policemen can vote for any political parties, including the Opposition like PAS, KeADILan or DAP, without being loyal or disloyal to the country. Those who say that for individual policemen to vote for opposition parties are disloyal to the country or 'unprofessional' are setengah-masak democrats.

Policemen are also human beings, citizens, taxpayers, income-earners, parents and children. Many of them and their parents and children also suffer from hikes in petrol price and electricity rate, inflation, breakdown of Kuala Lumpur's traffic system, inadequate housing for the poor and other negative impacts of wrong, misguided and class-biased policies of the government of the day. As such, policemen can of course vote for the Opposition just like any other human beings, citizens, taxpayers, income-earners, parents and children.

Although policemen are not supposed to be political in the discharge of their professional duties while on duty, they can attend ceremah or join in any political discussion when they are off duty. It is the same with soldiers, public servants, university academics, staff and students as well as all other citizens who are voters, whatever their functional categorizations in the social division of labour.