A dialogue on crime prevention participated by parliamentarians and the police today saw a range of interesting recommendations surfacing. Among them, confining criminals on an artificial island surrounded by sharks.

"Throw them (criminals) on an island because people are scared," said Gerakan Federal Territory chief and Segambut MP Tan Kee Kwong.

"Create an island, make sure that there are lots of sharks and throw them there," he added.

Tan also urged the government to act against hardcore criminals similar to the manner in which it had tackled the Communist insurgency.

Umno's Titiwangsa parliamentarian Astaman Aziz, on the other hand, called for a programme that would identify families with potential criminals in their midst.

"Whatever we have said so far is crime deterrent, we should talk about crime prevention, which is detecting potential criminals," he said.

The dialogue held at the Lake Club in Kuala Lumpur was organised by the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) amid fears over the escalating crime rate in Malaysia.

It was chaired by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Maximus Ongkili, who is in charge of unity and integration.

Police lack manpower

Maximus said that crime can be prevented if the public played a more proactive role by instilling good values in the younger generation.

"We want these youngsters to start early by saying 'No' to crime," he told a press conference following the nearly two-hour dialogue attended by 10 parliamentarians.

The minister also revealed that a voluntary security corp comprising Rela and Rukun Tetangga members would be deployed in high-crime communities.

Maximus said that drugs addicts were to be blamed for the surge in crime. The addicts, he added, were released because detention and rehabilitation centres do not have enough room for them.

"Drug addicts are released back into society under police monitoring but there are not enough police personnel to do this.

"Communities should play a role in helping the police to monitor these addicts," said the minister.

Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur CID chief ACP Ramli Din, who was also present at the press conference, revealed that violent crimes in the capital had increased by 19 percent while crimes involving property had gone up 6.6 percent.