The police cannot seek self-defense as justification to shoot-and-kill suspects as criminals. Even hardcore criminals can be inmobilised by shooting them in their hands, arms, thighs or legs. Police forces the world over have been trained to do so in this manner. The recent killing of five Indian youths is atrocious.

Consequently, a distraught family member attempted suicide to take her own life and that of her children. This is indeed cruel and sinful. I am not supporting the criminals. I am talking about Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).

Yes, the crime rate has gone up so high that people including me are so afraid to go about in night and many housing areas have become gated areas today for security reasons.

.There are about five million Indonesians here both legal and illegal, the latter being much more than the legal ones. Whilst most of them are peacefully engaged with proper employment, a good number of them especially the illegal ones have come here to do robbery and burglary on a large scale.

But the Malaysian Indian boys have turned to crime out of necessity for their own survival. The disintegration of the estates and the migration of the unemployed Indian youths to urban squatters/slums are the main cause for this sad tragedy.

About 70% of male Tamil school students drop out at Standard 6. Society/government has failed to harness them by giving them suitable vocational training to enable them to secure jobs for them to lead decent lives. Some of these youth who were well-guided have succeeded very well.

The Indian-based political parties in the BN government like the MIC, even PPP and Gerakan should take pains to reach to all Indian boys beyond their membership to help them out. They should not dictate that only the MIC or Umno members will be given opportunities for vocational training which is the reality.

This attitude must change under ‘1Malaysia’. Therefore even Umno should take the lead to address this. In fact, MIC should be forceful and demand for the community’s genuine rights from the Umno-led government if it wants remain in existence as a political party.

The other sad story is that thousands of Indian boys are without citizenship even though they were born here. This because the ignorance of their illiterate parents who have failed to register the birth of their children.

Under the ‘1Malaysia’ concept, the MIC as a BN partner, should take the lead in securing a Special Desk manned by Indian officers at the National Registration Department to register the birth of these neglected Indian boys and girls.

In fact, MIC branch leaders should hunt for them in the rural and suburban areas if they really want to eradicate this episode of statelessness amongst the Indians in Malaysia. There are also Indian grandfathers/grandmothers who were born here are stateless in their own land.

The recent high court case of Ramanoojam where his children were ordered by the high court to be declared citizens after more than 30 years of waiting is a case in point. This is absolutely due to the frustrating and racially biased red-tape by some of the officers at the National Registration Department.

The number of stateless Indians in this country is soaring to more than 300,000 with the youth marrying young and producing more children. So this vicious cycle continues unabated with politicians largely being in interested in securing more votes so that they can immediately secure their positions. But these neglected people cannot secure decent jobs without being citizens.

Then in finality we the public and the police readily condemning Indian youths for becoming hardcore young criminals and for being a threat to the nation’s peace and security. This is a paradox. So let the government have the heart to make that change that is vital for young Indians to lead normal, decent lives.

In the meanwhile, the police should not take the easy route of claiming ‘self-defense’ in shooting to kill suspects. Ironically, the thousands of unemployed Indian youth could be trained and employed as effective policemen if there is a will by the government which says there are 30,000 vacancies in the police force.

These Indian boys like the Mat Rempit Malay boys can be positively trained as tough policemen for the good of the country. We trust that our new Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will walk the talk of ‘People First and Performance Now’ to give the real meaning of a ‘1Malaysia’.