It takes a robbery of a minister's home in order for the powers-that-be to openly now state that the increase in crime is no longer a perception. This is what we can term as prejudice.

When thousands of ordinary Malaysians kept falling victim to house break-ins and street snatch-thieves year after year and all these years, the authorities would only sermonise, talk down, and even insult the helpless citizens.

Citizens have always spent sizeable investments barricading their homes out of fear of being ransacked, maimed and even losing their precious lives.

Cars and motorbikes cost so much more in view of the alarm systems and security measures that need to be considered.

Parking and shopping is no more a stress-free outing either especially for womenfolk. Walking in the streets with a gold chain or going for a ‘majlis' decked in jewels comes with intense fears.

And now with a minister's family residence being broken into, we finally get the youth and sports minister to state that crime is no longer a mere perception, given the increasing incidences that know no discrimination between the helpless ordinary citizen or the powerful and privileged one.

Honourable Minister Khairy Jamaluddin's advice to the public to be more vigilant of their own safety and that of their family, however, begs more answers.

How else do you YB expect ordinary citizens to be "more" vigilant? What "safety" are you talking about?

When parang-wielding men break into a home, what safety is there?

When citizens have already barricaded their homes with grills, fencing, padlocks, alarms, fierce dogs, and leaving their lights switched on all night long, what other vigilance and safety do you want them to consider?

Do we not realise that all citizens - nationwide mind you, live in the shadow of the fear of being robbed and ransacked and snatched and slashed and even killed simply because the robbers know that the prospect of being spotted and nabbed before they strike is almost zero in Malaysia?

Do we not want to admit that unless and until the police are deployed to keep our housing estates and streets safe instead of hunting political ‘enemies', criminals and robbers will continue to get bolder?

Do we not think that unless and until the political masters seriously prioritise public safety and security, all talk is cheap while the individual citizen takes on the burden of safety and security and without much success?

Let us face some harsh but absolute facts with courage and commitment. The situation will get only worse and cost us serious lives unless and until the police get back to basics.

If the government can spend paying RM200 million for bonuses to EC staff, why could they not see the need to increase the policing strength?