THE plan of the National Police to set up a Special Anti-Anarchy Detachment reminds us of the Indonesian saying, “when the fishing rod breaks, split the oar.” It is about a neglectful fisherman who is ill-prepared to go to sea, so that when his only fishing rod breaks, he splits his oar to use it as a rod. As a result, not only does he fail to catch fish, he cannot even get home.

Perhaps this analogy is not appropriate. But this fantasy of s