Safety should be a way of life

We must strive towards a safer Malaysia, a nation where people can freely walk the streets and where criminals do not brazenly go about their activities – and where the adage 'crime does not pay' is foremost in people's minds.

AN unknown author once said that "Safety isn't just a slogan, it's a way of life".

In recent times, news of violent crimes, robberies and many more criminal incidents have been reported in every form of media.

Speak to anyone living in the city and chances are that person will share with you a feeling of insecurity in that city.

This is a real issue, not one of perception, not one of statistics, but the real feeling of insecurity.

If one should form a new nation; law and order would be the paramount ingredient in the creation of the nation.

It is important to give the citizens the feeling and the knowledge that the system will protect them and ensure that crime is prevented as much as possible.

Further, in any new nation, law and order will ensure that should crime happen, the system will do its best for justice to prevail.

A system which provides strong security and safety for the people breeds confidence amongst its citizens.

Where do we start? What do we reform? What are the solutions we look for?

One example to start off with would be the Royal Commission of Inquiry of 2005 which proposed reforms in the police force. We can adopt the proposed reforms there.

Other reforms would include the accurate education to send the message that the correct mindset ought to be "Don't Rob", "Don't Rape" and/or "Don't Attack".

For too long, we read reports of our authorities telling us that we should not carry a large handbag or dress in a short skirt or allow ourselves to be attacked.

The advice is acceptable but the crux of the problem is not the failure of the victim to be careful; but the audacity of the criminal to carry out his activity.

There is no doubt that Malaysians are a careful lot. Take a drive around the city and see how many houses are double locked and how many cars are steering-locked.

But the focus ought not and should not be on the potential victims but always on the potential criminal. Stop the criminal, and we stop the crime.

Our nation's security administrators have and must continue to take proactive steps to ensure the people are confident that their safety is well taken care of.

Of course the citizens are not silly, we can never expect a zero crime rate. There will always be crime, we know that. But the key would be for the system to strive to keep crime rates as low as possible.

What about the police, the frontier of the nation's security system?

We can only complain so much. What can be done to make things better?

The system must change from within. The police ought to be made to feel proud that they are a police force.

Our Government in recent months seems keen to invest and donate funds to the people via BR1M and other aid given to the people.

Why has the Government not diverted funds towards the salary scheme of the police force? If the nation wants the police to work harder, pay them better.

The police too, must change within themselves. They are our guardians, they are our security administrators.

Help the people, save them, and not hurt them.

The police may also consider sharing with the public their success stories on how they investigated and arrested certain criminals.

Somehow in my memory, the gunning down of the infamous criminal, Bentong Kali, in 1993 remains fresh.

I recall reading on how the police tracked him down, quietly surrounded his home in Medan Damansara and tried to arrest him but unfortunately the arrest turned into a shooting incident which resulted in Bentong Kali's death.

Let's take a look at the recent infamous Batman killing in the United States.

Within two days of that tragic incident, James Holmes was arrested and eventually charged.

Within 10 days after the incident, the police announced the results of their investigation and shared with the public how they investigated the incident. We can and ought to do the same here.

Ideally crime ought to be stopped in the minds of potential criminals. The system must try to plant in the thoughts of people that crime does not pay.

Another area which the system can explore is to have a criminology department to study the minds and the backgrounds of convicted criminals.

This process of criminology is prevalent in Western nations.

The same is used in Japan. We ought to follow that too.

But the citizens cannot just rely on the system and expect the nation to just save us.

They must do their part.

Over and above locking our doors, we may consider taking part in community projects to help find ways to solve crime.

The best informers of criminal activities are actually us.

We should do that.

We must strive towards a safer Malaysia, a nation where a child can ride a bicycle freely outside the house, a grandma can happily do her gardening outside her home or any of us can walk around without fear of being mugged or robbed.

Surely, that is not too much to ask.

> Richard Wee is Chairperson of the

National Young Lawyers Committee

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