NOVEMBER 8 ― So, just to clarify: 18 women, told that either their son or husband were in custody for having drugs, paid off  “cops” — one about RM50,000 — and made the cash drop-offs in garbage bins and under a car among other strange places?

Actually, they received phone calls with the caller ID of their loved ones. Someone was “crying” on the other end and the women — convinced that their loved ones were being held by police — hurriedly parted with their money. They did so without meeting the “narcotics officers”.

For those of a sunny disposition, the shocking Malay Mail exclusive this week did provide mocking humour. Police disclosed the women dropped off sums ranging from RM500 to RM50,000 in garbage bins, bus stops, phone booths, petrol kiosks, entrances to banks and a Chinese temple, all in Selangor.

We are sick of such blindingly obvious yarns and in this case fraudsters used the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to pull off the “vishing” scam. With VoIP, scammers can call a person’s landline or cellular phone with cloned phone numbers.

Not quite sure why the women, aged between 28 and 70, did not check with the colleagues of their loved ones if they were at work. I can hazard a guess why they paid the ‘cops’, but I rather not be too direct.

There must be something the real police are doing that convinced the victims that they had better pay up. Might I subtly suggest rogue cops and a loss of confidence in the force.

Consider: Before police launched a nationwide crackdown on illegal gambling on October 26, district police chiefs (OCPD) and station chiefs were warned they would be held accountable if there were any informers in their districts.

Then it happened. When the blitz ended last Sunday, police only had a two per cent success rate to show of the 9,663 raids that were conducted. The bulk of the suspected gambling outlets were found closed when the raiding party arrived.

The federal director of the newly-minted Integrity and Standard Compliance Department, Senior Deputy Commisioner Datuk Zubaidah Md Ismail, declared: “The informants could be policemen who misused their powers for personal gain.”

So, if policemen are suspected to be the moles, why weren’t the OCPDs and officers-in-charge of the smaller stations disciplined? Why weren’t they issued a 24-hour transfer order as promised by the inspector-general of police?

These officers have nothing to explain because illegal gambling was prevalent on their watch. And it’s costing the Royal Malaysian Police public confidence.

Just regurgitating the frustrating response, “we are aware of this and will get to the bottom of it” doesn’t show real intent to rid the gambling scourge and to bring ‘traitors’ in the force to book.

The public is not convinced that police officers are sticking to the principle that they are responsible for upholding the law especially when illegal gambling activities occur as close as within a 1km radius of a police station.

The next phase of the anti-gambling raids is being planned. It would be wise not to alert OCPDs of the impending operation. And it makes no sense to publicise the intended clean-up over a specific period as successful action guarantees media publicity.

The public expect the police to act with honesty and integrity and it is only right that the full force of criminal law is available to punish and deter acts of corruption by police officers.

Too bad elders browbeat rather than lead

It quickly became apparent that neither businessman Yusof Mansor  nor engineer Rosdi Shamsuddin was not going to back down.

  As Rosdi yelled without a microphone, elderly Yusof yelled with one. “You young people don’t know a damn thing about what you’re talking about. Shut up.”

There’s a fine line about addressing an issue and being a bully. Yusof, who’s is always picking on the young, crossed it — again.

Most times Yusof pre-occupies his time by ticking off Malay ladies who take to the neighbourhood park to exercise. He demands, with his microphone, that they cover head-to-toe even while jogging.

On Sunday, he was agitated over neighbour Rosdi celebrating the 12th birthday of his daughter Shafinaz — and singing “Happy Birthday” in English. He shouted from the main gate that a Malay family should extend birthday greetings the Islamic way — whatever that is.

A furious Rosdi asked Yusof to explain why singing “Happy Birthday” in English was not acceptable. “Unislamic” was the response.

To which Rosdi and the rest, including a multi-racial lot, launched into countless breakouts of ‘Happy Birthday’ in English.

Yusof reported Rosdi to the residents’ association and demanded immediate action, saying young Muslims in the area were going wayward.

The stage was set for an unheard of hearing of singing “Happy Birthday” in English to a Muslim.

The association president invited me to sit in at the hearing on condition that the neighbourhood was not identified as it was a “major embarrassment”, and that my presence was merely to write about the changing face of living together.

At 11.30am, Yusof and Rosdi squared off in front of a mixed audience. In less than two minutes, everyone sang “Happy Birthday” in English. Yusof was livid and swore to take the matter to higher authorities and advocacy groups.

Said Shafinaz: “Yusof is among those who have no idea how to speak to young people. Their naivete is worrying and they always get it wrong on moral issues. We can’t look up to them for leadership.”

When I told Yusof later that it was just a child's birthday, he held: “Unislamic. Very sad.”

*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.