In The Star,

This despicable crime has gone out of control. The police it seems have become ineffective in combating this menace. The culprits are becoming bolder by the day and more dangerous too. They are obviously individuals without conscience and totally with no regard for the law. The task now is to formulate an effective battleplan to stem this scourge. We need to declare war on snatch thieves.

There has been few successes in catching snatch thieves. This is because on most occasions there are no forthcoming eyewitnesses and no leads, as events unfolded at a shockingly fast pace. Most vehicles used in these crimes were also stolen or bearing false registration plates. Therefore tracing such culprits becomes a tedious and sometimes impossible task. Take Petaling Street for example. Pickpocketing in this area is common and police would only shrug their shoulders in helplessness when victims approach relaying their ordeals.

The solution would be to catch these thieves as the crimes are committed. In order to do this, others in the vicinity will have to play a role in possibly apprehending such culprits. Let not the events that occured to Sanorfizah be repeated. The police need to beef up their patrols and more plainclothes police personnel will be required in high risk areas.

Most of the crimes are committed by foreign nationals. A story carried on a local news recently mentioned that firearms were seized from an individual who is an Indonesion with a PR status. Why is it so easy for these individuals to get PR status when spouses of Malaysian professionals who are also professionals themselves can wait for 10 years and still be denied a PR status? Can someone clarify on this discrepancy or is the answer too obvious? I digress.

Snatch thieves are good evidence of moral decay and underlying social ills. We need to study the subject matter more closely in our efforts to understand the mentalities of snatch thieves. Perhaps only then can be start winning the battle. Is it due to economic hardship? Drugs? Gangsters? Pranksters?

We need to do something. If not, we will be hearing the death of another victim in the near future.

In the letter section of The Star,

There has never been any transparency in government procedures. The writer’s loan application hiatus will only be the beginning of many frustrating encounters. There are many flaws from the inefficiency of the officers in charge to the unfair policies in place.

Let me illustrate these unjust policies. The Cardiology department at a local hospital is well staffed with excellent, competent and well qualified cardiologists. Unfortunately, when the position of head of Cardiology became vacant, none of these cardiologists were selected. In turn, a more junior cardiologist from UK , who had little experience in the local situation was selected. Many asked why? No clear answers are forthcoming. Speculation is rife which often brews mistrust among certain groups of people. There was hardly any transparency or logic in the selection process.

My reservation of the SLAB(Skim Latihan Akademik Bumiputra) program is another good example of inconsistencies and illogical government policies. Elaborating on it further however may only invite unnecessary attention.

There is little that can be done when top government positions are monopolised by incompetent individuals. Corruption remains rife, although vehemently denied by politicians, is crippling the country. When money politics aka corruption cannot be stemmed in the main political party of our ruling government, how much can we expect the fight against corruption in government agencies to succeed?

The “tidak apa” attitude remains a hindrance to an efficient service. Simple good phone ettiquette, despite being a prime directive of the government, is ignored.

There is certainly unhappiness and dissatisfaction with current policies, despite a relative calm.