As a member of the public, it is highly disturbing to read about innocent women and young girls being snatched off the streets by some criminal or vice gang, almost everyday in the local press.

Most, if not all of them, suffer the ultimate humiliation of been raped and assaulted grievously.

Some survive the ordeal, but many others were never found alive.

Yet, despite the prevalence of serious and violent crimes committed against women, hardly a kingpin of any organised crime syndicate has been caught and imprisoned. Those arrested are common criminals eg pimps and rapists.

Whereas in neighbouring Thailand, the war against drug-lords has resulted in the arrest and dismissal of police chiefs and army generals who were on the take.

The war against vice, credit card fraud and illegal VCDs in Malaysia has not yielded any convincing result, nor has there been any arrest and imprisonment of leaders of these syndicates.

Why? Are our authorities too afraid to take on these criminals, or is someone in the higher-up been sleeping with the enemy?

Until and unless I am convinced by concrete evidence of effective law enforcement against organised crime in Malaysia, I can only conclude that someone higher up is indeed doing so.