KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — More snatch thefts, robberies and other crimes of opportunity are set to occur over the next two years due to the current economic slowdown, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed warned today.

Speaking during Question Time in Parliament, Nur Jazlan said it was vital that both the police and public cooperate to mitigate the anticipated increase in such criminal activity.

“Although there has been success in reducing crime in these areas, the dampened state of the economy is likely to see a rise in crimes of opportunity in the next one or two years,” the deputy minister was quoted as saying by The Star on its website.

“What is important is for the police and community to work closely together through community policing programmes to prevent such crimes.”

Nur Jazlan was answering Datuk Noraini Ahmad (BN-Parit Sulong) who asked if foreigners were identified as the perpetrators of snatch thefts.

In a separate answer to Fuziah Salleh (PKR-Kuantan), Nur Jazlan said that 975 people were detained under the Prevention of Crime Act up the end of September.

“Those detained were involved in crimes which gave rise to public anxiety,” he said, listing these as gangsterism, violent crimes, property crimes, and others.

Malaysia’s economic growth is projected to slow to 4.7 per cent of the economy this year, down from 6 per cent in 2014.

Falling oil prices has also slashed revenue for Putrajaya that it heavily dependent on dividends from state oil firm Petronas to finance its spending, limiting its ability to mitigate the slowdown.

The ringgit is currently trading at 4.31 to the US dollar, down sharply from 3.26 just a year ago.

Malaysians are also struggling with high household debt, which currently stands at 86 per cent as a ratio of GDP versus 46 per cent in 1997 when the Asian Financial Crisis struck.

The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has also further strained the finances of Malaysians, who were already complaining of rising living costs in the years prior to the new consumption tax.