Sunday’s public hearing of Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights and Good Governance will provide people of JB the opportunity express their views whether the crime situation in Johor is under control

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Media Statement          
by Lim Kit Siang  
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(Petaling Jaya, Sunday): The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan’s claim yesterday that the crime situation in Johor was under control as figures indicated the crime rate had declined by four per cent is most premature and unconvincing. 

The police must not be satisfied with any improvement of the crime situation until the people in Johor Baru can feel safe in the streets, public places and privacy of their homes and be assured that they are free from crime and the fear of crime. 

The people most qualified to pass judgment as to whether the crime situation in JB is “under control” are the people in the Johor capital and not the police, and such a situation must be felt by the people in JB and not artificially generated by media spins or  newspaper headlines like “IGP says situation in Johor under control” (New Sunday Times 1.7.07) or “JB FOLK FEELING SAFER NOW” (NST front-page headline 30.6.07). 

True, the people in JB do feel safer with the greater visibility of policemen and patrol cars in the streets these few days. But they do not want to just feel safer before the spate of brutal and horrendous crimes of abduction-robbery-gang rape in the past two months, with victims from all races, but to be fully restored their most important human rights – to be free from crime and the fear of crime, whether in the streets, public places or privacy of their homes. 

The Police was in denial just two weeks ago when faced with the outrage in JB and the nation at the rampant crime and lawlessness in the Johor capital, and they will be seen to be still in denial if they claim that the crime situation is under control when the people have yet to feel so. 

The Police have commendably taken the first step to come out of the denail and to regain control of the crime situation in JB, but it can only be meaningful and effective if it is part of a long-term strategy to wipe out JB’s notoriety as the capital of crime in the country and not seen as a short-term “PR exercise” to deal with the current national outcry over police failure to control and reduce crime. 

The public hearing of the Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights and Good Governance in Johor Baru on Sunday, 8^th July 2007 at 2.30 pm. ( venue to be announced tomorrow) will provide an excellent forum for the people of JB and Johor to express their views on the crime situation as well as whether they are satisfied with the police measures taken so far to control and reduce crime.

(1/7/2007)