When member of parliament and Women, Family and Community Development parliamentary secretary Chew Mei Fun, a victim of snatch theft and burglary, openly declared that "I was scared", many would have identified with her situation.

Here at last was a voice in the government that would be calling for steps to be taken to make the streets and neighbourhood safer for all. Would she press the government for increased police patrols, for example?

What Chew advocated was, alas, a disappointment. It is true that gated communities and condominiums, being private properties with restricted access, do provide a greater measure of security. However, such safety comes at a cost.

It is not only the private security services that have to be paid for. When street lights don't work or if potholes appear in the streets inside of the community gates, the bills for repair and maintenance go to the residents. Hence, here is no such thing as a 'cheap' gated community that

can be well-run.

I have nothing against those who can afford the lifestyle gated communities offer. If they have worked hard to achieve success in life, let them taste the fruit of their labour. But we have to accept that most Malaysians will not be among this group. There are also the existing non-gated properties, where the overwhelming majority of the population live, to consider.

Will personal safety and security then be available only to those who can afford it? Should not ordinary folk living outside the high walls of exclusive gated communities expect good neighbourhood security to be provided by the police?

Chew can look forward to feeling even safer before long. The up-and-coming parliamentary secretary is only a few steps away from becoming a minister, at which time she would be assigned her own personal bodyguard. Until the streets are made safer, the rest of us (we, too, are scared) who can afford neither gated communities nor personal bodyguards will just have to take our chances.