There was little credibility when it was reported in June that an Internet survey listed Kuala Lumpur among the most dangerous cities in the world – the sixth most dangerous city in the world after San Pedro Sula in Honduras, Ciudad Huarez in Mexico, Maceio in Brazil, Acapulco in Mexico and Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt.
But there was even less credibility when the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and the Home Minister claimed for the past two years that Malaysia is the safest country in South-East Asia.
The tragedy after the 13th General Election on May 5, 2013 is that Malaysia seems set to want to prove that Malaysia is an increasingly dangerous country rather than the safest country in the region, with the police and government authorities continuing to dismiss the feeling and conviction by the majority of Malaysians of rising crime and being unsafe in the country as only a matter of perception not backed up by official crime statistics, Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and National Key Results Area (NKRA) findings and reports.
The shooting and attempted assassination of whistleblower MyWatch Chairman R. Sri Sanjeevan, the shooting and killing of Arab Malaysian Bank founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi and the recent spate of murders and attempted murders by firearms have given Malaysia a bad name internationally as a country which is unsafe for her people, visitors and investors with far-reaching effects for Malaysia’s economic future and tourist prospects.
How did Malaysia descend to such depths of increasing criminality and deterioration of public safety despite all the hullabaloo about Government Transformation Programme and National Key Results Areas (NKRAs) which placed fighting and reducing crime as one of its top six priorities in the past four years?
Malaysia is establishing a world record of a country where its GTPs, NKRAs and PKIs about reducing crime have resulted in worsening crime situation as to reach uncontrollable levels despite beautiful charts, graphs and statistics of official reports and findings pointing to the contrary!
There can be no doubt that the crime situation had worsened after the 13th general election despite having a new Home Minister and a new Inspector-General of Police, and the public launch of a “war against crime” by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the middle of last month.
The official claim of success in reducing the crime index by 26.8% since the first phase of the GTP in 2009 cannot hide the fact of a growing gulf between the police’s claims and the people’s perception and fear of crime not only from their direct and indirect experience with rampant crime but the government’s inability to instill public confidence that the police can protect the safety and security of citizens, tourists and investors.
This gulf has become wider in the past three months after the general elections, with the rise of a new criminal menace after the mass armed gang robberies of customers and owners of open restaurants and eateries – the easy access to firearms and their rampant use for murders and attempted murders.
The Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, in response to his predecessor Tan Sri Musa Hassan’s suspicion that the attempt to murder Sanjeevan was linked to his recent expose on police personnel with crime syndicates links, said the police were willing to let an independent body investigate allegations of wrongdoings and corruption in the force as the police had nothing to hide.
I do not believe Malaysia’s crime situation would have deteriorated to the prevent depths as illustrated by the Sanjeevan and Najadi shootings and the recent spate of murders/attempted murders by firearms if the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) as proposed by the Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission of Inquiry in 2006 had been formed in past seven years to eradicate police corruption and wrongdoings.
Najib said today that he is prepared to consider “anything” the police needs to fight serious crime.
Is the Prime Minister prepared to consider “anything” the people needs to fight serious crime?
Is the Prime Minister prepared to introduce a bill to establish the long-awaited IPCMC in the September meeting of Parliament as an IPCMC will go a long way not only to restore public confidence in the efficiency, independence and professionalism of the police but will make a major contribution in the war against crime, including serious crime, by ensuring greater police commitment and professionalism in the war against crime in the country.