PETALING JAYA, March 4 — The nationwide spate of shootings over the past two weeks brings back the fear that gripped the nation in 2013.

The killings back then prompted police to launch a nationwide crackdown on gangs identified as the driving force in the increase of serious crime, while political parties on both sides of the divide called for increased efforts to combat gang violence.  

Police believe four of the six recent shootings reported in Selangor, Penang, Kedah and Johor were motivated by territory, power, and control of the illegal drugs trade. 

Bukit Aman’s elite squads may have to rethink how to tackle the problem, as it did under the feared Ops Cantas banner. 

Federal Narcotics Crime Investigation Department acting director Datuk Haris Wong Abdullah said yesterday Ops Cantas was still in effect and applied with the same force as in 2013. 

However, he said, the latest six shooting incidents might require them to employ new tactics. 

“We will meet with the different departments and see how we can deal with this,” he said.

Haris said more intelligence was required before police could deploy the Special Task Force for Anti-Vice, Gaming and Gangsterism (STAGG), Special Task Force on Organised Crime (Stafoc) and Special Tactical Intelligence Narcotics Group (Sting).

“The narcotics department regularly meets up with these squads and our focus after this will be to tackle this rising problem,” he said. 

Police sources said that following Ops Cantas in 2013, many gang leaders whose names were released by the Home Ministry fled the country, but now the gangs were controlled by new leaders. 

They said former gang leaders had an “understanding”, so they did not have problems over territorial power.

“There were many shootings in 2013 but most of them were not related to gang wars but internal gang disputes and also revenge killing,” one source said. 

He said the recent shootings appeared to be conflict between rival gangs. 

“The new gang leaders have something to prove and are not bothered about the pact the gangs had in the past,” he said.

“This has resulted in large-scale fights over territory.”