KUCHING, July 28 — Although national security is at its optimum level, the measures for preparedness to face any incident must always be in place and constantly improved not just among the security forces but also among the general public, said Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister, who referred to the shooting of a 43-year-old moneylender in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, said the public must also provide feedback in the matter.
“Questions have arisen as to why this is happening. Without going into the denial syndrome, I want to state here that the police are at the critical locations and always prepared,” he told reporters after attending the Sarawak Home Ministry Aidilfitri Open House at the Kompleks Islam Sarawak here today.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Home Minister, said a scheme would be launched on Aug 16 under the National Blue Ocean Strategy where five million people have registered for an application that would enable them to report crimes real-time to the Malaysian Police command centre immediately.
He said that though the crime rate had fallen by 30 per cent last year compared to the year before, the perception of the public as to the ability of the police to fight crime had not changed.
Zahid said he felt that the ‘Ops Cantas’ crime-prevention operation launched by the police early this year should be given an impetus and relaunched as Ops Cantas 2.0.
Ops Cantas was a proactive step taken by the police in crime prevention, especially after several shooting incidences in the country.
Last month, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, in a Twitter post, said that between January and June this year, 646 people were detained in the country under Ops Cantas.
Asked if existing laws were inadequate to combat gangsterism, Ahmad Zahid said it was not just a question of legislation but many other aspects as well.
He said the Home Ministry had also proposed to the government to repair the border fences in the north of the country, stretching some 7,900km, erected in the 90s.
He said he fully supported the statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday that the government would not apologise for prioritising the security and well-being of the people of Malaysia.
Zahid also said that the Home Ministry was aware of the constraints faced in improving security, such as repairing the fence at the border, but added that national security should not be compromised.
Meanwhile, on people detained for terrorism, Ahmad Zahid said they were categorised as “ideological criminals”, different from other criminals, and would undergo deradicalisation, while they would be curbed from spreading their beliefs to other convicts.
He said that to date, seven wardens in a prison in the country were influenced by the ideology of the prisoners and had voluntarily asked to undergo deradicalisation. — Benama
