New laws, like the Emergency Ordinance (EO), must be reinstated to help police catch crime syndicate bosses responsible for violent crimes in the country, two top former police officers said today.

The EO, which allows police to hold a suspect for a long period without trial, was the only way to encourage lower rung criminals to finger their bosses, for evidence is otherwise difficult to gather in the underworld.

NONE Therefore, the "stinging power" of the police must be returned to the force, said former inspector-general of police (IGP) Musa Hasan and former federal Criminal Investigations Department (CID) chief Zaman Khan at a forum in Shah Alam.

"If we only use conventional law, we can only catch the subordinate criminals... the bosses will always be protected and will be hard to identify," Musa ( above ) told the forum organised by Malay daily Sinar Harian .

"The EO will help police catch the heads of syndicates who now threaten our security."

Even a less stringent law like the Restricted Residence Act, Musa argued, would be ineffective as criminal bosses could today continue to operate, with a mere phone call.

'Criminals have backing of politicians...'

"The times have changed," he said. "Criminals were now very organised and involved in a spate of illegal activities, from gambling to prostitution, drugs and human trafficking to money lending."

Some syndicate bosses, he pointed out, were merely financiers and controllers of a hierarchy and did not directly carry out crimes and so they could not be easily caught. Police also suspect that some criminals have the backing of politicians, but had no proof on this.

NONE "Criminal organisations cannot grow so big without protection from someone... including politicians," Musa said.

Zaman Khan ( right ) noted that much of the work of the police depended on the information received.

"In the case of organised crime, people are afraid to come forward as witnesses... they will never make it to court and you can't force them," said Zaman Khan, who was also a former director-general of the Prisons Department.

Unlike the United States, he said, there was no extensive "witness protection programme" in Malaysia to give witnesses new identities after they testify against their criminal bosses.

'Criminals have less rights'

During the forum, both Musa and Zaman also tackled criticisms that an EO-like law may violate human rights as was previously raised in another forum attended mainly by lawyers.

Zaman Khan argued that human rights defenders must look closely at whose rights they were really defending.

"An EO-like law is not to harm another human being, but to ensure that everyone can live freely and  be safe. It is not only the criminals that deserve to be free," Zaman said.

He said that the 36 murders involving guns between April and September was worrying because an on-going gang war is now threatening public safety.

"The criminals rights cannot be more important than the public's welfare," Musa said. "For me, the criminal with a weapon has chosen death. The police's own safety is their priority as well as the people's safety."

On the shooting for five alleged mobsters in Penang last month, Musa said he would have no qualms asking police personnel to shoot on sight even without a warning shot.

"What if their pistols fail on the second shot?" Musa asked, triggering chuckles from the audience.

As for safeguards against abuse for a EO-like law, Musa said an advisory board should be established to review cases involvingly wrongfully detained suspects and provisions must be included to allow for appeals through court.

Former New Straits Times group news editor A Kadir Jasin was the third speaker at the event. The event was moderated by Transparency International-Malaysia president Akhbar Satar.