More than 200 people attended the "Give Us Back Our Peace" campaign in the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) this morning.

The campaign, jointly organised by KLSCAH and Suaram, was paneled by representatives from various political parties, including PKR's Anwar Ibrahim and non-profit organisations, like Charles Santiago from Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC).

KL Deputy CID chief ACP Khaw Kok Chin also took part in the dialogue on behalf of the police.

Of the BN parties, only Gerakan was represented. Its youth wing secretary Hoo Saw Ho bravely sat on the panel dominated by figures from the opposition.

Suaram's Tan Moon Hui ( right in photo )started off the proceedings by informing the audience that a memorandum titled "Give Us Back Our Peace" would be delivered to Bukit Aman and the Internal Security Ministry.

The memorandum, which outlines demands from concerned citizens to the police force, is signed by 236 groups, including Chinese associations and non-profit organisations.

The memorandum's demands include a re-evaluation of police report and investigation procedures, calls on the police force to deplete gangsterism and triad activities countrywide, increased awareness of women and children's rights, transparent announcements of crime rates in Parliament, and the implementation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) and other recommendations by the Royal Police Comission.

Productive discussion

Tan stressed that the campaign's aim was to start productive discussion between the public and the police force, an essential development now amidst stark rises in crime rates countrywide.

"Today we will give our opinions to the police force," he said. "And we will listen to the government and police as they give us answers."

In a forceful speech about the effects of rising crime rates, Santiago said crime is a cost to society and the economy.

"It is related to socio-economic problems and linked to corruption." he pointed out.

"High crime rates in areas like Johor and Kuala Lumpur would adversely effect the Visit Malaysia 2007 campaign and foreign investments in the Iskandar Development Forum," he added.

Santiago said the police force must be improved from a socio-economic perspective as well as a law and order perspective. "High crime rates are linked to high corruption levels in the police force and an ineffective judicial branch. It's high time that the government fix these problems."

Anwar said that the rising crime was not a political or a racial issue but a community issue.

'Race does not matter'

Speaking to the mostly Chinese crowd, Anwar stressed that race did not matter when it comes to fighting crime in Malaysia.

"I am a Malay, but Malays, Chinese and Indians alike are getting robbed. When it comes to security, race is inconsequential."

PAS' Hatta Ramli also agreed that the government should not racialise the anti-crime movement. He said he was glad that different races and political parties were represented in the audience, and urged all Malaysians to work together to combat crime.

"Everyone in the country will benefit from lower crime rates," he said.

Providing a glimmer of hope for the audience was Kuala Lumpru deputy CID chief ACP Khaw Kok Chin Khaw who revealed that that the total number of crimes in the city reported during the first five months of 2007 had dropped from 13,672 in 2006 to 13,487.

This decline of 187 cases was a good improvement, said Khaw, given that Kuala Lumpur had only one officer to every 700 citizens.

Khaw (right ) spoke at length on the new measures that the Kuala Lumpur police branch would take in order to ensure lower crime rates and better professionalism among police officers.

Among others, Khaw promised to implement an "open door policy", where the OCPD's phone number would be listed on public posters so that citizens could contact him directly if not attended to by a police officer.

Work together

He urged the public to work together with the police force in their crime preventation efforts.

"The police force does not take sides. The law is the law, and whoever breaks the law must be investigated."

Khaw promised greater transparency and accountability in the Kuala Lumpur police force branch.

"This is my side of the story: you let me know, and I will take action." he added.

Gerakan's Hoo, representing the only BN party to openly support the IPCMC, stressed that the ruling government is not afraid to admit that crime was indeed on the increase.

"However, we will not shirk from our responsibility in fighting crime and we need the cooperation of all citizens in this task," he added.

Violent crimes have shocked citizens in parts of the country, especially in Johor Baru, where vicious gang-rape and robbery crimes have mobilised citizens into crime-fighting demonstrations.

Two weeks ago, an anti-crime signature campaign organised by the Johor Tiong Hua Association collected over 250, 000 signatures from the public.