I refer to the letter I don't see police walking the streets.

I have the same fears as the writer. I don't feel safe in Malaysia. My wife feels the same way. My in-laws agree and remain fearful in their own home. There is no overwhelming police presence except to escort officials and convoys. There are only the routine stops to 'gempar' the motoring public for traffic violations, past due registrations, etc.

There is evidence to show that the authorities who are responsible for protecting Malaysian citizens are not fully utilising the equipment and manpower available.

Item 1: At Klang, along the main highway, there is a police bone yard for wrecked and confiscated vehicles. The number of laid-up police cars outnumbers the other wrecks in the yard.

Item 2: When you see a police patrol vehicle, it usually has every seat occupied by an officer (I assume all the occupants are officers). They surely know each other, talking like old friends. Why never a single car and single officer? Is it safety in numbers for checking on bribes? What, is protection so dangerous it takes a phalanx of police officers in cars to protect themselves?

Item 3: The deputy prime minister stated not long ago that Malaysia's sea borders are hard to patrol to prevent penetration by illegal immigrants. I agree. It is a varied and difficult coast to patrol. I have seen it with my own eyes. I have never seen a Malaysian patrol vessel on guard as in Singapore. All bows of Singapore patrol boats point outward to the sea. They have their Navy, their Coast Guard and their Marine Protection Agency - three layers of protection. I hope the new Malaysian submarines help.

Item 4: At Port Klang, there are three places where Malaysian coastal patrol boats are laid up, not regularly used:

1. The police boats, five in number, stay idle day after day in port. Some do not even function properly.
   
   
2. The Customs boats, eight in number at two different berths, rarely do patrol. When you see them running, there is usually a crew aboard looking for defects. When they do run, they race in and out of the harbour without regard to other vessels moored in the area.
   
   
3. There is no common design to the patrol boats. Each one has something different about it leading one to believe there is no 'fleet', just a jumble of different craft purchased on crony contracts.

So it is no wonder that citizens have fear. The police are only available to protect the state. They do not have as their first responsibility protection of the citizens. This condition is evident in several examples:

• Quickness to haul in bloggers who have published something 'defamatory'.
  
  
• ISA and OSA arrests - instant action on only one or two people's word.
  
  
• Permits for assemblies - rarely issued with many last-minute changes and even cancellations when issued.
  
  
• Police convoys and escorts - instantly available for VIPs.

Pity the people who really need protection.