'Whither the war against crime?'

Petaling Jaya Utara member of parliament Tony Pua has voiced concern over the increasing incidents of robberies in public places in Klang Valley.

"Has the Klang Valley descended into a state of lawlessness with near nightly incidence of audacious robberies in public areas? Or is this still an issue of 'perception'?" asked Pua, taking a jibe at the former Home minister Hishamuddin Hussein's claim that high crime rate was a matter of perception.

Pua recalled three incidents of armed gang robberies at three eateries since last week. They include in a steamboat restaurant in Cheras where some 70 patrons were robbed by a 10-member gang, as well as in Kepong and Kajang in the past two nights.

"In fact the situation got so ridiculous last night that these gang of 8 to 10 armed robbers can rob 2 eateries and then proceeded to enjoy and binge themselves at a local pub, following which they refused to pay and robbed the pub cashier as well!" said Pua.

Pua asked whether the much trumpeted 'war against crime' declared by the prime minister and the newly appointed inspector general of police Khalid Abu Bakar had started.

"If the Prime Minister and the new IGP is serious about this 'war against crime', they must implement the key recommendations of the 2005 Royal Commission of Inquiry recommendations for the Royal Malaysian Police," he added, repeating calls for the implementation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission.

Pua lamented that the structure of the police remained the same and ill-prepared to fighting crime, with only 9% of the force in crime-fighting task, while 41% in management functions and 31% in anti-riot and public order roles.

"This is consistent with the fact that the new IGP seems more preoccupied in a war against civil society activists and Pakatan Rakyat leaders under the Peaceful Assembly and Sedition Acts to clamp down on anti-BN dissent, as opposed to putting up a 'real' war against crime," Pua stressed.

Earlier, Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation vice-chairman Lee Lam Thye said criminals were on the loose due to poor law enforcement.

“I feel we have lagged in terms of law enforcement that strikes fear in the hearts of the criminals,” he was quoted as saying. -HD