The most recent incident where a Tan Sri shot and killed one
of the many robbers who struck at two clinics in Kuala Lumpur is going viral
on-line as the rakyat remain paralyzed with fear. As if reading about Cabinet Ministers and or their
next-of-kin and even the top cop's family falling victim to crime is not enough, now
we witness even clinics are easy targets for robbers these days. A senior politician has also highlighted that even eateries
have to throw in security guards to keep dining patrons away from robbers.
What is becoming of Malaysia Mr. Honorable Prime Minister,
Mr. Honorable Home Minister and our Number One captain of the police force, pray
tell us rakyat? Or shall we just dismiss the clinic robbery as an isolated
incident ā never mind the fact that the robbers were on a robbing spree before
the Tan Sri stopped them in their tracks on the second crime.
Where in the world do you hear of robbers even striking
clinics? It looks like we may now have to ask even doctors to operate like
banks with security vaulted doors. Or maybe, the Home Minister should direct
the Health Minister to get doctors to station armed guards at the business
premises just like pawnshop operators. And
as for the sick, they perhaps have to snoop around to ensure the
vicinity is free of potential robbers waiting to strike, before entering
a clinic for emergency medical attention.
The
clinic robbery incident therefore obviously hammers in the perception
and in all likelihood the fact that our police force have lost the
battle to
curb crime. Today, the force is reduced to chasing after those illusive robbers AFTER
a crime has taken place. There is no crime prevention anymore that is working
in Malaysia.
But only recently the rakyat got lambasted by the powers-that-be
that crime is only a āperceptionā problem. And of course, when the rakyat kept
harping that crime was striking every nook and corner, the Opposition
politicians got ticked of as the culprits āpoliticizingā the situation.Hello, anyone at home in the government of Malaysia? Do you
hear that even helpless sick patients are being robbed at clinics? Next probably
you will see the robbers strike private hospitals as only the rich and
affordable would be there ā No?
Let
us get honest here. What if the robbers killed the Tan Sri? What if the
bullets
fired by the Tan Sri hit a citizen patient? What if the doctor died? Or
are the
powers that be going to shut us all up for āimagining too muchā and slam
us with the often quoted statement "the public is warned not to
speculate"?Malaysians have now to ask themselves where and when the
buck stops. It cannot go on and on like this as we now have witnessed the
shocking incident of robbers even striking clinics and patients.
We need to know that the crime situation in Malaysia is no more
on the crime prevention wave as practiced by countries bent on attaining the
First-world status. Instead we have regressed to the low point of post-cime
investigation. What use is it to Malaysians to be told that each time a
crime has occurred and a report is lodged with the police, investigations will
get going? Would we not be better off if a potential crime was nipped hence
saving lives, properties and being freed of the mental and emotional torture
that comes with a robbery, snatch theft or rape?
Not
being able to protect the able citizen from crime is one thing; but now
the expose is the police are not even able to protect the weak and
infirm citizens seeking medical help. It is about time that the Home Minister and the Inspector
General of Police ā both appointed under the wish of the Honorable Prime
Minister, made up their minds and announced which then is the national thrust and policy
of the Police force ā is it crime prevention or post-crime investigation?
If we are merely subscribing to a post-crime-investigation policy,
then perhaps every commoner-citizen may have to carry parangs with them as they
may not be in the league of Tan Sriās licensed to have guns. Certainly,
in view of the fundamental issues surrounding the
state of public and citizensā safety, the ball is the Prime Ministerās
court
now. Will he maintain his trademark silence or will the citizens' hope
be ignited with word from the Honorable leader of this nation?
|
