Malaysia has become like the Wild West due to rampant shooting cases, according to former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan.

Therefore, he urged the police to revive 'Ops Cantas', the codename for the operation aimed at disabling gangland activities.

Musa, who is the president of Malaysian Community Crime Care (MCCC), said the number of firearms-related cases has alarmed the people.

"Our country is now like a cowboy country... Even this morning, there was a shooting case in Sungai Besi.

"I hope the police will take stern action. I also hope the police will carry out 'Ops Cantas' involving secret societies," he told a press conference in Petaling Jaya.

Police have also blamed a grenade attack on a nightclub in Puchong yesterday, which left eight injured, on gang dispute.

Musa also said the shootings could have happened arising from disputes between gang members or the gangsters were extorting money from their victims.

“That's why I hope the police will take serious action so that these incidents could be prevented and lives saved, as well as maintaining peace in our country,” he said.

He also urged the authorities, especially the police, to cooperate with MCCC to eradicate crime.

He added that MCCC had previously mooted the idea of cooperating with the police by setting up a database processing centre that would allow intelligence information to be shared by all authorities.

After one meeting, however, Musa said there were no developments from the police over the proposal.