Police force must be commited to fight crime

I refer to your front page report “Crime watch widens” (Star,August 7)

Most Malaysians would be happy that the police have finally awakened from their slumber to realize the unacceptably high crime rate prevalent in the country, especially in the federal capital.

What is distressing is that the majority of these victims are innocent students who are often killed for petty theft and due to no fault of theirs. Of greater concern is the complacent attitude of the police to these crimes. We do not see any urgency and seriousness in their actions to thwart the crimes.

By being prepared to install closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) all over the country, prime minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, appears to appreciate the gravity of the crime situation in the country. While his concerns must be commended, I feel installation of the CCTV is not the top priority now.

The single most important measure to prevent crime is the attitude of our police force. They must get rid of the “tidak apa” attitude and come up with a serious, no nonsense nation wide action plan to put an immediate stop to the escalating crime rate in the country.

All other measures such as CCTV, Rakan Cop, Rukun Tettanga and so on can only complement the strong physical presence of the police at hot spots. These by themselves, without a determined police force, will be useless in the fight against crime.

Protecting the rakyat should be the top priority of our police force. They must send a strong message, to the criminals, in no uncertain terms, that they are resolved to do this by whatever means available to them.There should be no compromise on this very vital role of our police force.

Strict enforcement of existing laws without fear or favour is the only sure way to reduce crime.


Dr.Chris Anthony