FEBRUARY 21 — The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) targets 12 million international tourists for Kuala Lumpur this year as a preferred destination of choice.

This, however, raises eyebrows of security practitioners and crime prevention organizations with regards to the state of security as this was neither addressed by DBKL or the Kuala Lumpur Tourism Bureau in their recent press statements.

By allocating RM15 million on tourism with the projection of RM62 billion revenue from foreign tourists for Kuala Lumpur, how is this fund being utilized for crime prevention initiatives and strategies, besides focusing on cleaning up the city and fixing existing facility damages?

What are the current standing from other industry key players and law enforcement agencies, particularly from the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) on their role in addressing the increased volume of foreign tourist arrivals and their safety against criminal elements?

In the month of January alone, a total number of 365 snatch theft cases were reported in Kuala Lumpur’s Dang Wangi district police headquarters, particularly in high-tourist areas such as the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), Bukit Bintang and Pasar Seni which has become the top three snatch theft hotspots in the city.

The statistics for snatch theft cases involving one district for an entire month equates to one incident of snatch theft per day for an entire year.

Factors of concern in relation to the crime prevention strategies should effectively address the fact that criminals are aware of such situational challenges, particularly in these tourist hotspots as being soft targets.

While boosting the image of the city to woo foreign tourists is good, but on the other hand, ensuring their safety and security while on holiday in KL should not be an oversight.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online