Malaysia is currently in the midst of a snowballing crime wave

and there are already accusations that the police are targeting
a certain minority in the country and shooting suspects with a
kind of passion that suggests that the Malaysian policeman is
trying to be accuser, prosecutor, judge and executioner all at
the same time.

Right now, the killings by both sides suggest that the police
are equally as desperate as the criminals themselves. And the
government is at a loss on what to do next. What the ordinary
citizens need now are solid anti-crime actions from the people
responsible for law and order, a.k.a. KDN.

For example, on page M3 of the Star newspaper of 24 Feb 2009,

there was stated that the Desa Mawar area saw a 38% increase
in motorbike thefts between the years 2007-08. The authorities
have no excuse to be unable to see that this is a factor in
the huge rise in violent robberies experienced lately. Robbers
prefer to use stolen bikes and cars when committing a crime
as it is much easier to dispose of their transport afterwards.

The Desa Mawars all over the country are full of frightened
residents who will tell you that after nightfall, especially
between the hours of 11 pm to 3 am, their residential areas
are 'ruled' by suspicious characters prowling around on bikes
or cars, some without lights at all and the uniformed policeman
is naturally nowhere to be seen.

The KDN is still unable to understand that preventing crime is

much more important then busting criminals. Shooting criminals
dead does not really compensate the victims of crime in any way
at all. The authorities should summon the courage and will to
deter crime from taking place in the first instance and thereby
keep the crime rate as low as possible. There should be more
patrols by policemen and they must be in uniform at all times.
In areas like the Desa Mawar, a sound-enabled CCTV should be
installed at the entry junctions to the apartment blocks.

The KDN ought to ask itself why known criminals are able to
ride around hunting for potential victims when they should
be resting inside the guest houses of the government. It is
a well known fact that the jails in the country are so very
overfilled despite they being built at a breakneck speed
that people are usually let out before they had served their
terms. And usually these people go back to their previous
ways upon release.

The authorities should now implement steps to make sure that

such people have their driving licences withdrawn or cancelled.
The JPJ should also be allowed to operate more road blocks to
catch those who ride around without licences. Such moves will
definitely help to prevent crime from multiplying like crazy.

The police should also be encouraged to show professionalism

in doing their jobs. A policeman's job is not just to sit
behind the front desk inside police stations. He should take
the trouble to gather intelligence in the areas he is assigned
to. There is something very wrong if a man could be robbed and
assaulted mere metres away from a police base.

The recent cases of fatal police shootings involved criminal

suspects who were armed with dangerous weapons. Why is it now
possible for people to go around carrying such deadly weapons
and in residential areas too. The reason is poor supervision
and control at the border areas. Guns, grenades and swords
are carried over by smugglers who sometimes worked closely
with the people tasked with anti-smuggling duties. Corruption
is the key that opens locks and the authorities must come
down hard on those who are guilty. Rotation of the personnel
working at the border checkpoints is urgently needed.

Police sharpshooters brought to flush criminal hideouts should

be given bulletproof vests and sniper rifles instead of just
revolvers. Thus, the need to urgently shoot first is lessened
and less fatalities get recorded. It also will help absolve the
accusation that the government wanted to proliferate carnage.

The crime situation in the country has wedged deep fissures in

our society and it's high time the KDN wake up from its present
stupor and implement some real solid anti-crime actions. Before
it's too late and Malaysia becomes another Iraq or Sri Lanka.