It is good that the Cabinet has decided the crime situation is serious enough to take urgent action.However the recent gathering at the MB's residence in JB shows that the population is getting tired of the authorities' promises that things will improve, especially with the recent salary hikes that have allocated more to the police.
The reluctance of the government to introduce reforms via the IPCMC that was its own commission also undermines the confidence of the public in the police. It is now two years and still no indication as to when the AG will complete the task. I would think if manpower is in short supply, the task could have been outsourced for preliminary drafting based on specific guidelines and then let the AG do the final draft.
Simply dumping more resources like men and cars into Johor will not produce more results if no action is taken against those in the police stations who refused to take the reports. For example if the first person to whom the crime was reported caused the unnecessary delay that resulted in the rape of the victim, that person should be charged with criminal neglect.
The victim should also sue the government for dereliction of duty. I am not a lawyer so I don't know what to sue for. But I think if a government servant neglects to perform an official duty, the government can be held liable.
The other aspect of the Cabinet decision that bothers me is that such an action should have been made by the relevant ministry or even the IGP. This allocation of resources should have been an operational decision by the experts.
Once public confidence is shaken, it will take a long time and visible results before that confidence can be restored. Setting up the IPCMC becomes more urgent now and that will lead to a quantum leap in public trust and cooperation.
Photo: Thanks to http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/Protest_01.jpg. People asking for a police base instead of a food court near their homes.
1 comment:
I’m sorry to hear about the sad state of affairs in JB. Other cities and towns in this beautiful country of ours also suffer similarly.
That these thugs can operate with such impunity is only a reflection of the levels to which we as a society have descended.
There are so many reasons for this :
1. AIDS (Always Immediate Denial Syndrome)
Whenever someone highlights one of our shortcomings, we are quick to deny it is so, claiming that “we are world class” / “we are better than Ghana” / “even Singapore has the same problems”, etc. Most times we defend ourselves by saying that the observer is “politically motivated” / “has a hidden agenda” / “is jealous of our success”, etc.
2. SyOK
Our immediate bosses and the higher-ups only want good news in our reports. This is results in bad news being suppressed and everyone reporting “Semuanya O.K.”
I’m sure you and your readers will be able to add many more reasons.
As an immediate measure, RELA and JPA3 (Pertahanan Awam) should be deployed in the streets with strict instructions to fight crime and NOT target the immigrant labour force as they are now doing. Their very presence would be a deterrent if it were well publicized that they have the authority to temporarily detain (until the arrival of the Polis) those committing crime.
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