Focus on reality, not perception

TODAY, what is terrifying to all Malaysians is the escalation of crime, especially after reading two high profile shooting cases which grabbed the headlines in The Star on July 30 and July 31.

Elsewhere I also read about a shooting incident in Ipoh where a man was shot dead outside a restaurant after a quarrel.

Early last year we read of several snatch theft cases, reported almost everyday in the dailies. Then towards mid-year there were several parang and machette wielding robbers attacking and robbing at free will, in some case causing serious injury and even death.

I recall last year that when such incidents became frequent people in high places and authority played down the seriousness by referring to the Crime Index .

Most people on the street were dumbfounded at the lax and complacent attitude given to a serious matter.

There is a “Cause and Effect” of all these scenarios.

While there is crime in most countries, all stakeholders must for the sake of safety of their nation and its people take stringent and strenuous action to curb and mitigate crime in the cities.

Today, a very senior person at my club asked “What have our cities become, we hear of these kinds of shootings in Mexico and Columbia.”

What should be our reaction? Deny it straight away?

The Government should now focus and place crime prevention on top of their so-called KPI’s.

Criminal activities are on the rise, from snatch thefts to robberies to shootings.

We got to get to the root cause of all these disturbing crime cases and look at the way enforcement is planned and undertaken.

Parents, especially with school going children, teenagers and fresh graduates, are very worried as no place is safe. Safety is a big concern whether you are at the car parks, shopping malls, restaurants, on the way to office, on the road, at petrol stations, your own home whether gated or guarded and even recreation parks.

People walking on the streets are advised to be alert at all times.

Consciously or unconsciously, our lifestyles have been altered to our detriment.

Our normal simple lifestyle is at risk!

A fresh call therefore to all stakeholders is now necessary to think out a viable strategy and structure to plan, control and combat crime.

The Home Ministry, police , immigration and customs should come together to get this going and follow through for a couple of years until things improve to some acceptable “safety level”.

Let the people be the judge, focus on reality instead of perception. HARI PRASAD Petaling Jaya