From Malaysian Insider, By Justin Ong
NOV 15 — Why do our politicians say the darnedest things? For instance, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was reported to have said that public vilification of government institutions is a factor contributing to the country’s rampant crime.
That’s Terminator-esque logic, that one; I’ll see if I can spell it out. Is Hishammuddin saying that our experience of being robbed, and the subsequent inability of the police to apprehend the bastards who robbed us, thereby leading us to think them (the police, not the thieving bastards) an irritatingly unhelpful bunch of twats, the reason why we were robbed again? If that is so: James Cameron, eat your heart out.
I’m a simple person. I like to see the reason why we have more crime as being down to the simple fact that we have more criminals. And the reason why we have more criminals is that the people responsible for catching these thieving bastards and locking them away aren’t doing so.
I can hardly see why my calling them all manner of names for not having done so contributes to their ability, or inability, to do so in the first place.
Or, perhaps, Hishammuddin means the way our police force has gained Gestapo-like imagery, replete with “mysterious” deaths in custody. Again, I’m a simple man. I cannot see how having such a frighteningly ferocious image can in any way contribute to an increase in crime rates.
I would have thought knowing that in the event you’re nicked for, let’s say stealing a car, that you’ll inexplicably drown in a glass of water while being held in police custody, would prove a sufficiently strong deterrent towards crime rather than providing further encouragement. But that’s just me. Who can fathom how the devious minds of criminals actually work?
Criminals of a more violent disposition (those naughty, naughty boys who like to play with knives and guns) would also no doubt tremble at the risk of engaging in “police shootouts” with the crack shots that populate our police force. Those who run afoul of this lot often tell no tales in the aftermath. Makes you think twice about leading a life of crime, doesn’t it?
As for white-collared criminals, the motivation to dip your hand into the cookie jar must be enough to make the earth move. Because the very real and present danger of having to negotiate the treacherously slippery window sills of Plaza Masalam for a breather during marathon questioning, should you be nicked with chocolate stains on your lips, bears serious contemplation.
Of course, all of the above are just some of the “perceptions” that the public may have of the various institutions.
But again, I put it to Hishammuddin: Do any of these actually create more crime? If anything, these make it obvious that the “perceived” stakes for criminals have gone up, not down. Why are people still breaking laws?
In any case, I’d like to offer some suggestions to Hishammuddin, on the premise that his assumption is true that it’s our lowly views of the government institutions that makes them ineffectual at their duties. At any rate, what’s there to lose?
Maybe you shouldn’t be sending 60 people to go arrest an unlicensed preacher. His name isn’t David Koresh, there is no Mount Carmel, and most certainly no automatic weapons are present. The same goes for opposition politicians, sending in siege teams is overkill.
Maybe you shouldn’t send an army of coppers to turn Ipoh into a warzone every time the bloody state assembly convenes. It’s a bunch of state assemblymen shouting at each other. What are you afraid of, that they’ll cuss each other to death?
Maybe you shouldn’t bother hauling up nutters cycling around the country to highlight social iniquities. While it’s alright to hate cyclists in general, even this was too much. Besides, they’re cycling in our weather; that’s already punishment enough.
Maybe you shouldn’t turn parks into battlefields every time a bunch of people want to get together and light a few candles, and maybe sing the national anthem. If they’re not crazy arsonists, your cops could be doing more useful things elsewhere. Plus, it’s good that people sing Negaraku, isn’t it?
Maybe you should have the MACC get its priorities right. Nobody is saying small graft is not graft. But between investigating the misuse of a couple of thousand ringgit in state funds and an unemployed dentist with a multi-million mansion, I think even you know which matter is the more pressing.
Maybe, just maybe, if all of these were so, you might be standing in Parliament and telling Malaysia how something is being done to make the country safe for one and all.
Because the alternative of going there and saying crime is high because we don’t think the world of government institutions, should be a crime in itself.
