Arm robberies and other forms of crimes have badly tarnished the good name of the country. Our prisons are cramped with over 34 percent foreigners and many more are illegally residing in the country. There are foreigners who come just to commit crimes and then make a quick exit from the country.

In recent times, rampant criminal activities in many parts of the country committed both by the foreigners and locals are bloodcurdling and this has forced the police to bring in more personnel in some cities. This, nevertheless, could only be a short-term measure. The crime rate could still escalate if the law is soft on criminals.

Rapid economic development alone is not going to bring peace to a society if criminal activities are not earnestly curbed. Day after day, criminal activities in the country are becoming more serious. We read about people being robbed, murdered, raped and tortured.

The recent incident in Penang where a robber was found dead along with the machete he used to attack his victims is just one of those gruesome moments. The victim and the family who defended themselves fortunately survived - thanks to the thoughtful neighbour who alerted the police. This robbery reminds us of many other similar incidents involving foreigners ganging up to harass our citizens.

The authority has to tighten the process of law further to curb this menace or else crimes would ceaselessly breed into a way of life. It seems like the process of law in the country has not deterred many from getting into the habit of committing serious crimes. Perhaps, criminals observe that we are still too lenient and this has not in any way deterred them from going on a crime spree.

The law should then see that even suspected criminals are kept at bay to save the helpless citizens. If the process of law is made stringently difficult for the police to detain and charge criminals in court, the crime rate would continue to rise. Most hardcore criminals realise this and they are willing to take the risk. The process of law should see that the police are given more clout in handling criminals, and only by doing so would help them bring these suspects to justice.