SHAH ALAM, Sept 25 — The Selangor Shooting Association clubhouse in Subang was ordered closed due to lax security procedures regarding firearms under its care, state police explained today.
Selangor police chief Commissioner Datuk Mazlan Mansor said the temporary closure was enforced following an investigation on gun control regulations at the premises.
“The suspension will be indefinite until proper procedures on firearm control are enhanced and enforced,” he said after attending the Selangor contingent monthly assembly today.
The action against the club stems from the suicide of a student, 19, who killed himself in the toilet of a nearby college using a pistol he had allegedly taken from the club where he had been a member.
On Sunday, The Star newspaper also reported that around 20 national shooters set to take part in the 42nd South-East Asia Shooting Championships in Taiwan were left without guns and a training venue as a result of the closure.
Mazlan said today that the police must be firm in such cases, especially as shooting ranges are equipped with various types of deadly weapons and ammunition.
“The issue of firearms is an issue of safety and the disappearance of a single firearm can threaten public security.
“We do not want a repeat of an untoward incidents which is why the forced closure was necessary,” he said.
According to the association's website, the club also serves as the Permanent Headquarters of the Southeast Asia Shooting Association and the home of the National Shooting Association of Malaysia.
“The association, along with all other shooting ranges in Selangor must adhere to existing regulations and security recommendations so that their activities are not disrupted,” Mazlan said.
