Media Statement by Senai Assemblywoman and Assistant Publicity Secretary of DAP Wanita at Johor Bahru on 19th June 2013 (Wednesday):
Heng Sai Kie’s statement is proof of her poor understanding of democracy and police policies
It’s very disgraceful that the chair of MCA Publicity Bureau, Datuk Heng Sai Kie has accused Pakatan Rakyat of worsening the country’s policing problems when in fact, the BN government has not placed the highest priority on combating crime.
While we have more than 120,000 police officers serving nationwide, only about 6,000 are involved in combating crime.
Regrettably, the BN government has been reminded too many times in and outside of Parliament that more police personnel was needed in CID and other sections such as the General Operations Force/Pasukan Gerakan Am (whose duty is to combat communist activities half a century ago) and Special Branch (which is tasked with collecting intelligence about dissenters and opposition leaders) should be curtailed or abolished.
It is obvious that the deterioration of policing isn’t caused by any rallies rather it is a result of wrong policies adopted by Barisan National Federal Government. In many democratic countries where rallies are common, they do not have the sort of crime situations currently faced by Malaysia.
I do not doubt that the public safety situation will improve if the few thousand Special Branch personnel who are usually present at peaceful assemblies could be transferred to CID to combat crimes instead. But, will the Barisan National government agree to such a suggestion?
By accusing and making Pakatan Rakyat a scapegoat for the problems faced by the police, Datuk Heng Sai Kie is exposing her poor understanding of government policies and policing in general.
As a former BN Cabinet member, she should know that crime is caused by a variety of economic and social factors including the ever-widening income gap, urban poverty, school dropout rates, drug use, deteriorating family structures and to a certain extent, the increasing number of foreign workers in the country. At the same time, skewed priorities and misplaced government policies worsen the situation.
I hereby advise Datuk Heng Sai Kie to retract her accusation and support the Opposition in pressuring the Federal Government to restructure the police force by dismantling certain sections of the police force and reassigning the personnel so that the police can focus on combating crime effectively.
Wong Shu Qi