Intensified move in fighting street crime
By Izatun Shari, The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: The fight against street crime will enter its next wave next year with intensified community policing and voluntary patrols by the Rukun Tetangga and Police Volunteer Reserve Corp.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein said the move to the next level will come after the announcement of the drop in street crime and overall crime index next February.
Hishammuddin said 40% of initiatives to fight street crime under the ministry’s national key results areas (NKRAs) had been rolled out under the first phase and there were signs showing that the set target had been exceeded.
“In February next year, we will announce the actual street crime and overall crime index figures.
“This year we can see the police presence, deployment of Rela (People”s Volunteer Corp) and Civil Defence corps as well as CCTV installation having an effect on street crime,” he told reporters after the meet-the-people session in Ampang here yesterday.
He said the third wave of the battle against street crime will see the use of technology and and increase in intelligence policing.
So far, he said, street crime index had dropped by 37.69%, exceeding the ministry’s target to reduce crime by 20% by this month.
Separately, Hishammuddin challenged Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to show proof that the government’s consultant, APCO Worldwide is linked to OneIsrael and the Israeli regime.
“He (Anwar) should expose it. He said he wants to expose it. I believe if he has the information, he would have exposed it a long time ago,” he said when asked to comment on Anwar’s remark that he would expose the information.
Anwar was suspended from parliament for six months on Thursday for alleging that APCO is linked to OneIsrael and the Israeli regime.
Hishamuddin said that when Wikileaks exposed that the Australian and Singaporean intelligence agencies discussed Anwar’s latest sodomy charges and trial, the PKR de facto leader fingered the police.
“The people will not accept this anymore. When the churches were torched, Umno was blamed. When the cow head was paraded, Barisan Nasional (BN) was blamed. Even when tables and chairs went flying during PKR elections, they blamed Umno and BN,” he said.
On the Syiah movement, which is spreading in Selangor, Hishammuddin said that, so far, there were no militant elements in the movement.
However, he said the ministry would monitor the movement’s activities and also ask the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) and the relevant authorities to keep tabs on it.
Earlier, Hishammuddin presented a certificate of appreciation to property agent Yeong Ken Sin, 33, who helped save Manual Lokose, 81, from two snatch thieves on Dec 13.
