Pepper Lim laments the police’s blasé attitude towards crime.
Dear Paprika,
Yesterday, I read a tweet by Uncle Khairil (@kaerumy) saying that he got robbed on his way home from work. He was walking from SS15 to SS17 in Subang Jaya, and three young men in a white Perodua Myvi mugged him. They took his bag containing his laptop, smartphone, wallet and even his keys. His house was just around the corner and the police have a station some 500 metres away!
When he went to the police station, he was told that it is now the norm for robbers to rob from their cars and not just from motorcycles.
Just I was about to start writing this letter to you, I saw a post by Uncle Donald on Facebook. His wife’s car window was smashed while she was waiting for the lights to change somewhere between 1Utama and Centre Point in Bandar Utama; it was during lunch time by men on a motorcycle. Luckily, the thieves did not manage to take anything.
A few days before this, I happened to be at Ah Ma’s house and saw two policemen and some neighbours standing at the new security gate that the street had set up. Fearing another house had been broken into, I went out to talk to the policemen. It turned out to be a routine check by them on the visa of the security guards.
I know the job of a policeman is not easy. Even when the rakyat set up their own security guards to help them fight crime, this has its own problem. Last month, a security guard hired by a bank shot a bank employee in her face and robbed the bank itself! Talk about harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi!
I talked to one of the policemen about the high crime rate and the need for private security. He told me, “You know, if we knew where the next robbery would be at, we would go and wait there.” I simply smiled at his simplistic way of justifying the failure of keeping the street safe.
It cannot be denied that crime is still very rampant and everyone is doing what they can to protect themselves, their loved ones and their properties. Worst of all, the police do not seem to be winning this fight against crime despite the cooperation from the rakyat. I liken this to a student taking and failing his exams. No amount of excuses will explain his failure after failure. Who will accept a student’s explanation;s of, “Oh, I didn’t know that question would come out. If I did, I would have studied that section. So it is not my fault I failed.” A student taking an exam is expected to study hard and pass with flying colours. Therefore, I do not comprehend how the police force can still fail to address the high crime rate when the rakyat are helping by gating their own communities at their own expense.
The police have some pretty sophisticated equipment in their arsenal. I saw them personally during the Bersih rally; helicopters, armoured personnel carriers, armoured vehicles, guns and hundreds of officers. The way some of the officers kicked and punched the protesters informed me that they can handle themselves in a fight. So why are they losing the fight against crime?
Some time ago, Raja Petra accused the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of collaborating with criminals. Tan Sri Musa Hassan has since been replaced by Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar. Still, things have not seemed to change for the better.
The Auditor General revealed that the PDRM lost RM1.33 million worth of assets including 29 vehicles last year. Yes, 29 police vehicles were stolen from the police! Which psycho would steal from the police? If the police cannot protect their own valuables, what hope have the rest of us?
Take a look at this image I saw on Imgur. The title says, “LAPD Officers went undercover and dressed up as women to catch a purse snatcher, 1960.”
Can you believe it? 19 policemen dressed as women just to catch 1 purse snatcher! This is the kind of dedication I want to see from the police force. I want to see policemen who are concerned about their bad reputation and are working hard to change it. Imagine how Uncle Khairil would feel if he was told that there are policemen walking around with a laptop bag, trying to bait and catch these criminals?
I read someone’s experience when he went to make a police report after his house was robbed. The policeman told him, “Ada satu rumah YB kena rompak hari tu, estimate loss RM700,000; tak kecoh macam encik pun.” (“A VIP’s home was robbed the other day with an estimated loss of RM700,000 and he didn’t even make a fuss, not like you, mister.”) Is this professional conduct?
Look, I know not everyone in the police force is lazy, incompetent and full of excuses. Here is a wonderful report about some policemen who go beyond the call of duty to ensure they get the job done. We want more of such policemen!
Personally, I do not think the police can be effective against crime considering the fact that the Auditor-General (AG) cites corruption from the highest level of government to the lowest. How can you fight crime when the very people you work for and with are criminals stealing commissions, accepting kickbacks, awarding overpriced projects and more? Why, you can even get away with murdering a Mongolian citizen in what seemed to be an open-and-shut case!
The AG’s report states that our country spends billions of ringgit for the rakyat’s benefit but we do not seem to have benefited much. Take for example the 2012 Hari Belia celebrations. The Ministry of Youth and Sports allocated RM15 million for five days of celebration. RM 15 million to be spent in just five days! Even worse, the Ministry overspent and the total bill came up to RM 67.6 million! These kinds of reports are rife in the AG’s 2012 Annual Audit Report, as it is in past annual reports.
Who is responsible?
Who is taking action against such blatant disregard to the Ministry’s budget?
Who is ensuring such a misuse of the rakyat’s money is not repeated?
No one. As it has always been, it will always be. That is, unless, the rakyat does something about it.
Your loving father,
Daddy
Today standard, these LAPD guys would have been rounded up by JAWI and the purse snatcher will be seeking his next victim! LOL