LETTER | A nationwide spike in shooting incidents signals a worrying trend.

Recently again we read or heard about two shooting incidents: one in Penang and a gun-armed robbery in Johor. This is not something new. Some of us are aware that it is not hard to hire a hitman or purchase/rent a gun in Malaysia.

Armed banditry and criminal violence is something that the previous government failed to tackle effectively. It doesn’t takes a rocket scientist to know what is the cause of it and how the criminals obtained such firearms. Simply put, it is due to corruption and ineffective enforcement (especially at the border of Thailand) to stop the smuggling of the firearms.

Typically, the individuals who use firearms to commit violent crimes are not the initial lawful purchasers, but have instead obtained firearms through an illicit (black) market (be it from Thailand or Indonesia, or within Malaysia).

There are two Acts that control possession of guns: the Arms Act (1960) and the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act (1971). It is relatively well regulated.

Therefore it is important to trace the source of crime guns. Routine tracing of firearms recovered from criminals is key to the effective enforcement. Those trace data can be used by law enforcement to identify dealers who sell or supply a disproportionate number of crime guns.

These people can then be subjected to heightened scrutiny. Individual traffickers can also be identified through trace data.

It is also equally important to identify the points along the border used by syndicates to smuggle in guns. This can be found at the Thai or Kalimantan border and not forgetting the southern side where boats are coming from Indonesia.

Our enforcement authorities need to be more effective to curb gun smuggling. So are strict policies to be implemented to enhance accountability and thereby prevent violent injury and death, and more importantly to live in a safe and peaceful country.

ANDY YONG is Gerakan Youth deputy chief.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.