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Crime in malaysia essay

A. Overview of Malaysian Security Risks
Malaysia is generally considered to be one of the most stable countries in South East Asia. Like all developing nations, however there are some problems, which can impact on businesses operating or planning operations within the country. In overview the primary risks that are faced within Peninsula Malaysia are assessed as follows: Crime MEDIUM Social Disorder LOW Terrorism LOW

1. Crime
The crime rate is assessed as MEDIUM and rising. a) Petty Crime Street crime is a growing problem in major population centers, particularly Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru and Penang. These crimes include: Snatch theft Break and enter Robbery, particularly car jacking and taxi robberies Scams Credit card fraud

Snatch theft is of particular concern and it is noted that several women have died from head injuries sustained in such attacks. It is common for the Malaysian press and Police to blame the large illegal immigrant population (predominantly Indonesian) for their many woes regarding petty crime. A Police commission into this subject found that these allegations are actually untrue and that the majority of petty crime (80%) is perpetrated by Malaysians.

b) Sexual Assault
All major urban centers have recorded a marked increase in rape and rapemurder cases in recent years.

c) Kidnapping
Kidnapping has not impacted on businesses in Malaysia to date. It does, however constitute a developing risk within the Malaysian context and is a trend that is worthy of monitoring. Kidnaps to date have had the greatest impact in the ethnic Chinese community and in the majority of cases demonstrated some complicity with family members. Full time kidnap gangs have previously operated in country. The most notable example would be a gang of predominantly Pakistani nationals that committed a number of high profile kidnaps in 2004. Generally kidnapping constitutes no great threat in Malaysia and the risk is assessed as low.

a) Organized Crime
Organized crime proliferates throughout Malaysia. Hijacking of high value cargo, raids on warehouses, manufacture and distribution of drugs, pirating and distribution of DVDs are subject of regular report. Gangs are well organized; demonstrate professional flair and good planning. A constant factor throughout all cases is gang members seeking employment with the target prior to the raid. The illegal drug market appears to be primarily centered on production and supply of amphetamines and associated substances for a domestic market. Another focus for organized crime groups is credit card fraud and intellectual property rights infringements, where these gangs' regional connections can be effectively brought to bear.

Gangs are predominantly run by Malaysians of Chinese ethnicity although it is not uncommon to find Malay and Indian gangs and gang members.

b) Kuala Lumpur Black Spots

The following areas are identified through reporting as having the strongest associations with crime: Brickfields Cheras Dang Wangi Sentul

2. Social Disorder
The risk of social disorder is assessed as Low. Demonstrations and social disorder are rare. While recent large-scale protests have attended the trial of Anwar and the beginning of the US-led military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, there were only limited clashes with police. However, protests in recent years have accompanied sharp rises in the subsidized price of fuel, toll increases and perceived inequalities in treatment of Indian communities. Racial issues that pervade Malaysian politics, but rarely receive open expression, and to some degree this has created a degree of underlying tension between the three main ethnic groups: Malay, Chinese and Indian. This situation has some potential to become a major issue and is carefully monitored and controlled by the Malaysian government.

3. Terrorism
The risk of terrorism is assessed as Low. The authorities in June 2001 claimed that they had broken up the Islamic extremist Kumpulan Mujahideen Malaysia (KMM), accused of committing a spate of robberies, the murder of a Christian politician in Perak and the bombing of a church and a temple. The group was also accused of establishing links with secret organizations abroad and sending members to Ambon, capital of Indonesia's Maluku province, where Muslim/Christian clashes left thousands of people dead between 1999 and 2002. However, there has been no suggestion that KMM members had planned to

attack foreigners or foreign interests. It has been suggested that the group is or was affiliated to the PAS; however, independent analysts cite the party's past commitment to constitutional processes in opposition to this theory. There is also evidence of possible activity inside the country by the regional Islamist extremist Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) network, which allegedly carried out a series of bombings against Western interests in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali bombings. The state of Sabah on Borneo island remains a well-established transit point on the terrorist infiltration trail, which leads from the southern Philippines island of Mindanao to Indonesia's Kalimantan province on Borneo and beyond. Abu Sayaaf Group, Philippines terrorist organizations have previously kidnapped tourists from Malaysian shores. Malaysian Police between April and May 2006 arrested 12 suspected members of the extremist Darul Islam group in the Sabah towns of Sandakan and Tawau. According to police, the group was involved in smuggling weapons and militants, but was not plotting terrorist attacks within Malaysia. Perhaps the situation is best summed up as follows: Malaysia demonstrates excellent target potential for terrorism but the presence and enforcement of a strong internal security act has so far kept the country relatively free from incident.

a) Southern Thailand Impacts

and the potential for unrest in those localities to spill over into Malaysia. This conflict has seen hundreds or people killed or wounded in the last five years and no accord reached between the Thai government and the rebels. All assessments to date indicate that the southern provinces issue is wholly a Thai issue and has no impact on Malaysia other than forcing tighter controls along the Malaysian/Thai border. Debrief of a former MAF Border Control commander supports this assessment. It is assessed that this assessment will remain current in the short to medium term.

B. Malaysian Police Capability and Response

Malaysian Police 2004 reporting indicated that the annual number of criminal cases was in the vicinity of 150,000 cases. Most recent reporting for 2007/2008 puts the number of total cases closer to 200,000. Taking into account that under reporting is an issue in Malaysia the true figure is likely to be in excess of 200,000 and it is anticipated that 2009 figures, when released, will show yet another increase. Most recently the Malaysian Police reported the crime rate in Kuala Lumpur had dropped by 19.2% for the month of May 2009. While this figure appears impressive in context within the overall crime index it represents only a small gain in the continuing battle between Police and criminal elements and reflect growing pressure on the Police force to show some inroads into what is an escalating problem. The Malaysian Police are under significant pressure from both government and the public to get control of what is seen as an escalating crime rate. Unfortunately with a significant short fall of uniformed officers on the ground gains in this battle are yet to be seen. Police successes are generally sporadic and as a result of a focused operations in nominated areas for a set period of time. Analysis of current operations leads to the assessment that while temporary gains can be achieved through the conduct of specific, limited targeted operations the longer-term gain is likely to be small. Once the Police focus is ascertained criminal elements merely shift their focus elsewhere and return at a later time to resume business. As previously stated Malaysia is currently suffering a shortage of Police officers and this situation is being taken advantage of by criminal elements. There is unlikely to any immediate change in this situation. On occasion Malaysian Police have even deployed recruits to conduct patrolling activities in an effort to make same impact. While such activities certainly generate positive press the real time impact on crime is negligible. The Malaysian government has implemented a massive recruiting drive in 2007 as part of the last 'Five Year Plan' with the intent of increasing the size of the force by an additional 60,000 officers. While this initiative was ultimately

slated as a positive step in the short term little impact has been seen. The simple facts are that there is a shortage of Police training academies across the country. New academies are being built but it will be some time before significant numbers of trained officers will graduate, be deployed and gain sufficient experience will be built but this will take up to two years. Once the academies are in place they will have to be staffed by experienced officers drawn from the existing force resulting in a loss of valuable operational experience on the ground and a further degradation of Police overall capabilities against crime. While the overall strategy is sound it is assessed that there will be little relief from crime for the citizens and businesses of Malaysia in the short to medium term.