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Stop the politicking, do some policing instead
Published:  Jul 20, 2012 9:53 AM
Updated: 6:54 AM

YOURSAY 'Do we think that the police care for us? The answer is obvious, particularly from what happened at the Bersih 3.0 rally.'

Crime rates are dropping, but why are we so scared?

your say Anonymous #18452573: I remember 10-15 years ago when you could count on the police. Since then, my spouse was attacked by a snatch thief, a relative's car was stolen, a neighbour I know was murdered in a botched house break-in, and a number of friends have shared similar close contact experiences.

There was a time when we used to hear about crime, it was so far removed. Maybe a friend of a friend's friend. But today, it's you or a family member or a friend.

This is not just a perception. This is reality. I would like to see how the Pemandu members feel about letting their family members wander at night in Kuala Lumpur or not install iron grills on windows and doors of their homes.

Rakyat Malaysia: My colleagues and sister were victims of snatch thieves. Luckily they were not harmed. Everyday, we get news that someone has become a victim of crime.

My friend from Kuala Lumpur told me that there was a half-body found somewhere in KL recently. The other half, not sure where it was.

And it is sad to see an elderly individual died in Penang because of a snatch thief. How come the police and government are not doing anything about this? All they can say is install more CCTVs. Can't they patrol the area more frequently?

Anonymous #52720663: Going to Cherating on vacation turned out to be bloody bad experience. There was an attempt to snatch the purse of my wife in broad daylight in front of the Cherating Inn hotel and the hotel security seemed blase to it all.

I guess it was just another statistic of one more tourist. Till then, having and still living overseas, I had thought that crime was not an issue. That incident changed my whole perspective.

We did not report the crime because it would have just been useless. The hotel spewed the usual mumbo-jumbo of concern and other similar stories, but we knew that they just do not care.

Odin: When we were young and afraid of the dark, and we were walking in such a place, we felt safe as our father or mother held our hand and led us.

Why did we feel that way? Simple. Because we trusted our parents. Because we knew that they loved us. Because they represented a tower of strength.

Do we trust the police? Do we think that they care for us? The answer is obvious, particularly from what happened at the Bersih 3.0 rally.

Do we trust Pemandu? I don't - not after its CEO first said that Malaysia would go bankrupt before 2019 if the spending trend continued, but only some three months later he changed his story, although spending had accelerated.

Two years ago when I went to a police divisional headquarters regarding theft of several items from my house, the policewoman behind the counter looked and spoke to me in a manner as if I was the culprit instead of the victim.

Is that the way to instill the feeling of trust among members of the public and to make them view the police in a positive light?

Kim Quek: To put it in a nutshell: No amount of NKRAs (national key results areas) from Pemandu would really work as long as our political leadership and our police force remain as corrupted as they are.

And to stamp out corruption, we need to do it "top-down", meaning starting from the top and going all the way down; and that means the replacement of the existing political leadership with a new team.

Jedi_Who: The crime rate is statistically low because people are beginning to believe that the police are in cohoots with the criminals and/or political thugs.

Even if you report a crime, it remains unsolved and whistleblowers and innocent citizens are instead intimidated, beaten up and bullied. People only make a police report when they require that piece of paper for insurance and other remedies.

Chee Hoe Siew: The police are bullshitting using statistics that they make up. If crime is so low, how is it that my parents have not only installed electric gates, house alarm and even CCTV. Even with these installed, there were still attempted break-ins.

Tell me how lucky can we get when such break-ins are not the first my family has experienced? The joke of the day is the police telling us up-front that they won't be able to catch the guy, even when the CCTV footage was given to them.

Anonymous #61972288: Ask Crime Reduction NKRA director Eugene Teh to go walk alone on the street. See if he gets robbed or not.

Disbeliever: Crime is not happening only in big cities but also in smaller cities and in the suburbs.

I was a victim of an attempted snatch theft right outside my gate at 10am in broad daylight. I was then sweeping the compound outside my house when a motorcyclist and his pillion rider rode by and attempted to snatch my gold chain.

They were wearing jackets and full-face helmets and there was no way to identify them at all.

Way back in the 70s and 80s, there used to be police beat patrols but nowadays there is hardly any sign of the men in blue. The only time I see them is when their sirens go wailing, clearing the road for some big shots and VIPs.

Wira: When reality does not match statistics, we should examine how those statistical data are collected.

We should not just ascribe that to perception. Ten years ago, I did not hear my friends getting robbed. Today I do.

Pemandu, please get an independent professional body to audit the data and suggest improvements if they find any deficiencies.

Anonymous #19098644: We are scared because unlike BN politicians, you and I can't afford to hire bodyguards and live in gated and guarded enclaves.

We are scared because we need to go out to make a living. They are not scared because they make a living robbing the people with deals like the West Coast Highway, which has exploded from RM3 billion to RM7 billion.

The only way to stop this nonsense is to change the government.


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