Press Conference Statement By Lim Guan Eng In Petaling Jaya On 25.1.2008:

Tan Sri Musa Hasan Should Make Up For His Failure To Check The Alarming Rise In Crime Rate By Leading His Officers To Patrol The Streets Once A Month 

Inspector-General of Police is correct in saying that the police force would be deemed to have failed if the crime rate continued to rise and the drug menace left unchecked. Despite Musa’s promise to reduce crime when he was first made the IGP in 2006 and repeated by him when the government extended his contract by two years in 13.9.2007, Musa’s record in combating crime is one of unmitigated failure.  

Unfortunately the only transformation seen is the public perception of the police becoming more corrupt and loss of public confidence in its ability to fight crime. The crime index has risen every year since Musa became IGP and refused to come down. Police failure to fight crime is best encapsulated by the missing five-year-old Sharlinie Mohd Nashar who disappeared from a playground about 200m from her house in Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya Selatan on 9.1.08 and who has still not been found even though a special police task force has been set up.  Musa should make up for his failure to check the alarming rise in crime rate by leading his officers to patrol the streets once a month.

Serious crimes rose by 13.4 per cent nationwide last year compared to 2006, particularly gang robbery without the use of firearms rising by more than 159 per cent, gang robbery with firearms by 15%. More repugnant are the 30% rise in rapes  to 3,177 cases and 12% rise in molest to 2,320 cases in 2007. With 3,177 rapes and 2,320 outraging of modesty cases last year, this means that there are 8.7 rapes and 6.4 women molested daily last year.

In other words 15 women are raped and molested a day last year. These are only reported figures and the actual rapes and molest cases could be much more as it is generally known that for every report lodged there are as high as 5 unreported cases. Such frightening figures are unacceptable in a civilized and caring society such as Malaysia.

We can succeed in crime prevention by putting 100,000 police personnel to patrol the streets and tough on the causes of crime by improving economic conditions and wiping out police abuses through setting up the IPCMC. There are not enough policemen patrolling the streets and even though employing 100,000 policemen to patrol the streets may be costly, it is a practical and a real solution to rampant crime. With an additional 100,000 policemen on the streets, Malaysia would reach the international benchmark of 1:250, one policemen for every 250 persons.

Putting 100,000 policemen on the streets may cost us an extra RM 10 billion a year but what is RM 10 billion when the nation suffered losses of RM 15.2 billion from crime alone in 2004 and may have cost us more than RM 20 billion last year. Spending RM 10 billion to employ 100,000 extra policemen would not only be cost effective due to the huge financial losses from crime but avoid the physical pain and injury inflicted on innocent victims and their families. 

Abuses of power, misconduct and corruption until senior officers have been charged in court for accumulating extraordinary wealth and complaints of mistreatment have sapped public confidence in the ability of the police. The police would be the first to admit that the battle against crime can only be won with the confidence and co-operation from the public. Only the IPCMC can overcome this malaise within the police force by winning back public confidence and compel the police to refocus on successfully combating crime. 

DAP would continue with our nation-wide public campaign pressing for the adoption of the IPCMC and employing 100,000 policemen to patrol the streets to ensure that Malaysians enjoy the four basic rights of security to work, study, live and study in a safe environment. 

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* Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General