The recent reports of crime cases happening around the country has raised many eyebrows. In fact, it has become quite an issue of concern for Malaysians who are more concerned about safety in the surroundings.
The fact that numerous cases were reported in public places like shopping malls and such made it harder for Malaysians from all walks of life to be confident when leaving their home. The problem is, some have even blamed it on the release of detainees who were previously held under the Emergency Ordinance 1969 or known as the EO.
The EO, together with the controversial ISA (Internal Security Act) came under fire for its implementation since it was enforced and the recent repeal of the laws brought about a lot of happy faces. In this context, one must be aware that the EO detainees cannot be coined as ‘criminals’ although the justification of their detention was to have broken ‘some’ law.
One thing for sure, the detainees were never convicted in the court of law and hence, it is difficult to legally define if they have broken any laws. Having said that, there has also been complaints that the EO had been abused by the authorities which, in this context is a totally different issue altogether.
Therefore, if you are to blame crime cases on the former EO detainees, it would invariably be unfair. In fact, crime prevention should be more about better policing instead of pointing the fingers on others. Here, it can be noted that rising crime cases could actually be reduced if there were better enforcement acts which could be more proactive instead of reactive actions.
It is time to increase awareness and better policies and time to stop the finger pointing and blaming game towards the people who are not even involved in the first place.
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