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Media Statement        
by Lim Kit Siang  
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(Parliament, Saturday): I remember that when I stayed for a short stint in Johor Baru for about a year some 47 years ago, the Johor capital like other parts of the country was generally safe and secure from crime for its residents and visitors and the term “ fear of crime” never existed. 

This was the position until some 20 years ago, when the law-and-order infrastructure and institutions failed to keep abreast with the  rapid socio-economic developments and changes, and Johor Baru together with other metropolitan areas like Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and Penang, increasingly acquired the notoriety as “hot spots” of crime where it residents are not only victims of high crime rate but live in fear of crime. 

JB outranks all the other urban centres in the country as the capital of crime where the fear of crime haunting the daily lives of its residents is most palpable like a permanent haze in the JB air. 

Let JB be a national test case whether it is possible to wipe out the fear of crime which is haunting the daily life of the people of JB or the fear of crime will worsen and spread to other parts of the country with the police losing the long-term war against crime. 

This will be one of the objectives of the public hearings of the  Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights and Good Governance on “Fight Rising Crime” starting in Johor Baru at Tropical Inn tomorrow (Sunday, 8^th July 2007 at 2.30 pm), the second public hearing at MPPJ Civics Centre, Petaling Jaya on Wednesday 11^th July at 8.30 pm and the third public hearing at Jit Sin Chinese Independent Secondary School, Bukit Mertajam on Sunday, 15^th July at 10 a.m. 

Other police forces in the world like the New York  Police Department (NYPD) have openly recognized that the “fear of crime” is a specific challenge they have to address and overcome apart from fighting crime. Apart from fighting crime, it is also time that the Malaysian Police openly recognize that public perceptions and confidence are of paramount importance and there must be a specific police strategy to wipe out the prevalent “fear of crime” in JB and other hot-spots of crime in the country and ensure it does not become a nation-wide problem.

(7/7/2007)