Bloggers ticked off for discrediting police

(Bernama) – Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop said it was possible that some bloggers had posted certain articles just to tarnish the image of the Royal Malaysian Police.

He said the aim was to seek cheap publicity, which ultimately caused tension and fear among the public over their safety.

“I don’t dismiss the possibility that some bloggers post speculative stories in their blogsites to seek publicity,” he told reporters after visiting the Chowrasta market in Penang today.

He was responding to comments made by certain quarters that the police had failed to control the situation (over the ‘Allah’ issue), resulting in undesirable incidents to occur.

Abu Seman who was here to visit several street crime hot spots in Georgetown was also scheduled to visit the Jelutong police station and quarters here.

Earlier, at a briefing, the deputy minister was informed that the street crime index in Penang had gone down between Jan 1 and 16 this year.

Abu Seman said this was due to intensified daily monitoring in the crime hotspots by Penang police.

“Besides that, the parachute operation initiative of stationing two policemen in the crime-prone areas has also managed to curb crime and make it easier for the public to lodge reports.”

He said there were three categories of street crime, namely armed robbery, unarmed robbery and snatch theft.