Groups: It’s a short-term fix

‘Amendments to Act do not deal with crimes in neighbourhoods’

PETALINGJAYA: Communityandresidents’ association leaders are calling the amendments to the Prevention of Crime Act a “short-term” solution that do not deal with the petty crime plaguing their neighbourhoods.

Brickfields Community Neighbourhood Watch chairman SKK Naidu said the criminal justice system already has a process for putting criminals through a fair trial and sending them to prison, if guilty.

“Often when we tip off police and they bust criminals, there is already ample evidence.

“Why is there a need to resort to detention without trial?”

He said it was unhealthy to have an option to arrest suspicious characters without any investigation into whether they were guilty or not.

Friends of Kota Damansara chairman Jeffrey Phang said such a provision amounted to trading one fear for another; instead of being afraid of criminals, people would be afraid of what the law can do if it is abused.

“None of us like the current feeling of insecurity, but this is not the right way to tackle the problem. There needs to be a holistic approach to deal with crime, not just using the brute force of law,” he said.

He suggested more visibility of police patrols and beat officers, as well as closer collaboration with residents to keep crime at bay.

BandarPuteri8Residents’ Association chairman Datuk Samson Maman, however, applauded the proposed amendments, describingthem as “the law we have been waiting for”.

He said it would be good to have preventive detention laws to deter criminals from committing crime and detaining those who make a career of it.

“We try to act as the eyes and ears of the police. This often leads criminals to threaten us, to poke our eyes and cut off our ears,” he said.