Violent crime needs strong response
SPECIAL COMMISSION: A set of concrete policy recommendations must be developed to reduce such cases within a certain period
While we look for answers on the root causes of the problem, we also have to act fast to help restore public confidence. Foreign tourists should also feel safe about visiting Malaysia.
A. Jalil Hamid, NST
SPENDING Raya in my hometown of Penang, a colleague reminded me not to drive a particular luxury German marque in the traffic-choked city centre.
I didn’t ask why, but a few days ago, a motorist was killed while he was driving an expensive car in Anson Road in George Town. He was hit 10 times at point-blank range, according to the police.
The murder of 37-year-old K. Veerapan, who had a previous record for drug-related offences, was among the latest in the spate of gun violence and organised crime that has gripped the nation and raised further public alarm about our security and safety.
We were assured by the country’s top policeman, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, that the recent incidents of shootings around the country were all targeted, not randomly chosen and that the overall security situation remained under control.
Some in the media are hyping the series of shootings as the start of some gangland turf war by hardcore criminals.
Some attributed these to be the work of ex-Simpang Renggam detainees bent on reclaiming their turf.
In Veerapan’s case, the blood being spilled in broad daylight on the resort island of Penang will raise the pressure on a police force already struggling to battle street crime.
The government has pledged that the authorities would clamp down on “brazen” crime as police hunt for contract killers in other high-profile murder cases.
These include the murders of Arab-Malaysian Banking Group former top executive Hussain Ahmad Najadi on July 29 in Kuala Lumpur and Customs deputy director-general Datuk Shaharuddin Ibrahim in April.
While we look for answers on the root causes of the problem, we also have to act fast to help restore public confidence. Foreign tourists should also feel safe about visiting Malaysia.
Apparently, some Singaporeans, alarmed at the recent spate of shooting cases, have postponed their trips to Malaysia, according to the Singapore media.
I know one expatriate living in Kuala Lumpur who decided to move down south of the border because the spouse was worried about petty crime.
In dealing with the violent cases, there should be a clear, deliverable plan for the short, medium and long terms to deal with the situation. We cannot leave things to chance.
It is almost a crisis-like situation that requires a strong response from all sides — the government, the lawmakers, the police, the judiciary, civil society and Malaysians in general.
The government, through a special commission, should develop a set of concrete policy recommendations within, say, three months to reduce violent crime.
I know it is almost impossible to stop or deter any violent crime, but at least we will be deeply committed that we will do something to reduce it.
From dinner conversations to Raya open house functions, it is clear that the people are worried and they want action. Now is the time to prove that we can do something.
The government has said it would provide the police with whatever is necessary for them to enhance their capacity to fight serious and organised crime.
Stressing that the government would not allow the situation to persist, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has said the issue would be raised at the next Parliament session.
Speaking of legal clout to deter organised crime, there is raging debate
whether the spate of the recent shootings was linked to the repeal of the Emergency Ordinance and the Internal Security Act, both of which provide detention without trial. These were part of the wider political reforms.
There is this school of thought which suggests that serious crime can only be controlled through preventive security laws such as the EO, rather than through modern policing methods.
Others argue that even when the EO was in force and until it was repealed in 2011, we had had brutal crime cases and that the reinstatement of the EO or the introduction of its successor would not necessarily help deter the influx and the possession of illegal firearms.
Everyone would, however, agree that hardcore criminals should be put behind bars, but in this current climate only through the due legal process.
