KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — The implementation of the Islamic criminal code will be a better measure to cut the crime rate, Federal Territories PAS Youth chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin said today amid public unease over a recent spate of shooting cases nationwide.
He urged Malaysians to back the implementation of Shariah law for criminal cases, arguing that such measures would have a “preventive” effect and were not only “punitive”.
“We urge the people to back the implementation of Shariah law for criminal cases as part of the effort to reduce crime rates,” he said in a statement.
In May, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang tabled a private member’s Bill in Parliament seeking to enhance the punishment scope of the Shariah courts.
Yesterday, a moneylender in Setapak was shot by two men in a drive-by shooting in broad daylight, adding to a long list of such shooting cases this year.
Khairil also questioned if crime rates had actually dropped as the government claimed following the shootings.
“Does this not show that violent crime is on the rise among people in urban areas?” he asked.
He also demanded that the police step up and curb all gangs and syndicates in the country so that the country is not “polluted” with violent crimes.
“About 70 per cent of Malaysians will be residing in cities by 2020 due to socio economic factors, and this process will be affected if they are troubled by the issue of such crimes,” he added.
He also said that the shooting cases prove that the government’s National Key Result Area target to reduce crime is “failing”.
