Malaysians were alerted to the shocking news of another shooting incident yesterday in Penang. The brazen murderer and his accomplice committed the cold-blooded murder of a woman in broad daylight, showing little fear of law and order. This incidence refreshes concerns over the state of gun control in Malaysia.
According to the written parliamentary reply by Deputy Prime Minister cum Home Minister Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on November 15 last year, there were 249 incidences of firearm-related violence between 2014 and September 2016. The breakdown is as follows: 105 cases of murder, 117 cases of attempted murder, and 27 cases of armed robbery.
Meanwhile, only 122 of the 249 cases have been solved thus far, at an atrocious rate of 49%.
However, the figures in the table above may not be accurate. In a separate parliamentary reply dated November 8, Ahmad Zahid pointed out that in the first nine months of 2016, the reported firearm-related violence cases stood at 24 cases of murder, 27 cases of attempted murder, and 31 cases of armed robbery.
If 31 cases of armed robbery had been reported in the period between January and September of 2016, how is it possible there were ONLY 27 cases of armed robbery happening between 2014 and September 2016, as disclosed by Ahmad Zahid in his previous reply? In the short span of a week Ahmad Zahid the Home Minister gave two conflicting answers, showing a lack of transparency the government has over criminal statistics!
Based merely on the numbers supplied for the nine months between January and September 2016, there were 82 cases of firearm-related violence, on an average of 9 cases per month. The Home Minister and the Inspector General of Police must explain how these criminals acquired their weapons.
Criminals are not afraid to commit brazen acts in the middle of the day, and the low case-solving rate by the Royal Malaysia Police may point to one of the reasons. The fact that criminals are not afraid to commit such acts in broad daylight speaks volumes of the perceived incompetency of our police force.
If our men in blue are unable to contain such threats that disrupt peace, what is at stake is the safety of Malaysians, and the peace and security of the society.