All eyes on the street

By: Muhammad Fazlie Nordin

Crime index in Malaysia

Crime today is a worrisome problem that must be tackled by all. Not a single day goes by without it, hence this a battle that we just cannot afford to lose. 

We have to keep in mind that peace and security is our civic duty. The police cannot be at every corner and nook all the time. We must be there to assist them, so always be the eyes and ears of the men in blue.

 You never know what is around the corner.

"The other day one of our neighbors, a woman, got out of her car to patronized one of our local businesses. She was not 10 minutes from the time she entered to the time she came out, when she noticed someone thrown a brick through her car window and stolen her wallet that was under her car seat. I was stunned and it was definitely a blood-curdling experience I have ever experienced in my life." Hafizah, Tropicana Indah resort homes resident. She also mentioned that the crime was committed in broad daylight near the housing area.

For some, these crimes are seen as a typical thing in daily life. They tend to take it lightly because they have never confronted such incident before. 

"It comes to my surprise when people say, "Let the police take care of the crime, it is their job not ours.,” she mentioned briefly.

Sign at Jalan Tun Ismail; Beware of snatch thief.

Another such incident left a backpacker, a Swedish girl, Anneli, angry and annoyed as she was assault and snatched in the KL city center near Pavillion on 3rd March. “The mode of this assault was to pull on a bag and when I turned round I was threaten violently and robbed. This is a ‘assault-first-rob-later’ mode of attack.,” described Anneli.

Tranquility cannot be accomplished without unity, without a team effort.

"In the 70s, the impetus of setting up a neighborhood watch started when people got fed up with the crime rates in the area." Tan Wah, a resident of Taman Shamelin Cheras explained.

"Back then, people will get together every sunday at Pondok Rakyat to discuss regarding the vexation we're facing. However, my people (referring to his neighbors) dislike focusing on the negative side alone, we also discussed regarding any forthcoming gotong-royong events. Just to balance out the lows." he continued.

Neighborhood Watch committee in Cheras

Based on the survey done by Community Transformation Centre, it is concluded that majority people agree that the role of neighborhood watch is beyond ensuring security in neighborhoods. In other words, it is not only to empower neighborhood watch communities to foster unity and become agents of change but also to shape its direction in transforming towards peaceful and better Malaysia.

 One of the Members Of Malaysian Crime Prevention Association (MCPA), Dharshviny, urged all committee members in all areas to implement relevant programmes according to the needs of the community.

 "This will make the lawbreakers to think twice before committing any crimes. Safety begins with us and I believe people can help prevent crime when they look out for each other." she adjured.

Towards a safer Malaysia

B.S Lee; we need more people to join CP

"Every individual plays a vital role in order to prevent crimes. By being aware such incident can happen to your family is enough to encourage you to work hand in hand to fight crimes." expressed Lee, a community-policing district committee. 

He also emphasis that many people are prefer to ignore the crimes rather than helping the victims. "Most of them think it is better to close one's eyes rather than calling the police, simply because it is not their duty. Either way it is still dangerous for the people" he added. 

Individual who are interested to join community-policing committee can refer the official website of community-policing, http://www.cops.org.my/cpdc.php.

Besides becoming a member of the community, Malaysian also can retrieve information regarding crimes such as wanted person lists, nearest police station telephone number, cops TV, 'balik kampung' form on the website.

For the social media lovers, Malaysia Crime Awareness Campaign facebook page provides an adequate and insightful updates regarding crime in Malaysia.
Who knows one day you could save a person's life.