Malaysia mulls return of strict laws to fight crime

Malaysia is considering the return of strict laws that allow for detention without trial, to clamp down on violent gun crime.

(CNA) – Malaysia is considering the return of strict laws that allow for detention without trial, to clamp down on violent gun crime.

This comes after a recent spate of killings sparked concern among the public.

Since mid-April, more than 30 shooting cases have been reported across the country.  

Most of them were said to be linked to the illegal drug trade or turf wars between rival gangs.  

Malaysians are jittery over the unprecedented level of gun violence in the country.  

They want the police to double their presence on the streets, and they want tighter controls to stem the flow of illegal firearms from across the border.  

“It’s quite worrying to go out now at night, especially at night, because you don’t know what’s going to happen. It may not happen to me, or my friends, but someone else in the same area,” said a local resident. 

The Kuala Lumpur city police have again tried to allay public concerns.

Ku Chin Wah, CID Chief of Kuala Lumpur, said: “Rest assured that there is no random shooting of innocent bystanders. If you are targeted to be murdered, you can be killed anywhere, you don’t have to come to KL to be killed.”  

The government and the police have blamed the surge in violence on the abolition of the

Emergency Ordinance two years ago, which was said to have returned some 2,600 hard core criminals or well connected gangsters back on the streets.  

The Home Ministry is now mulling bringing back preventive laws that allow for detention without trial.

All state police CID chiefs have been tasked to personally handle investigations into the shooting incidents.  

Meanwhile, the opposition parties have set up their own crime task force.

They said at least half of the entire police force ought to be patrolling the streets, and getting involved in criminal investigations. Currently only less than 10 percent of the 112,000 strong police force are doing that, they added.