12
speak up!
thesun says
Police must do more
to fight crime
FROM police statistics it is clear that to 538 cases from 489 cases, and rape
there is an increase in crime in this cases had increased from 2,710 to
country. Even without the official sta- 2,943. However we may look at it,
tistics most people had concluded a these statistics are alarming and the
long time ago from newspaper reports government and the police must do
and from what they heard of robberies much more to ensure that the figures
– some of them violent – snatch thefts for the number of cases of all types of
and burglaries in their residential areas crime are reduced significantly.
and in other areas that crime is on the To say that all these figures compute
rise. Such is the perception that many to a mere 1.75% increase in the crime
people are resigned to the fact that index is not reassuring enough. It Asian
they can no longer rely completely on cannot even be reassuring to say that
the police to ensure the security of their the index is much lower than those in stocks
lives, their homes and their properties. neighbouring countries. On the other tumble as
To many people the economic
days when the streets Car thefts had increased by 2,534
in the residential areas cases from 10,290 cases and house fears
were safe at all times are
break-ins by 2,732 cases from 19,299 deepen
long gone. To them those pg 15
halcyon days are gone cases. Murder cases have also risen
simply because beat to 538 cases from 489 cases, and rape
policemen who were cases had increased from 2,710 to 2,943.
familiar to residents of
the areas they patrolled and whose hand, considering the increase in crime,
presence alone reassured the residents it would be most reassuring should the
of the security of their lives, their homes police announce that they are recruit-
and their properties are gone. ing more people, including more people
The statistics released by Bukit from all races, to join the force. Short-
Aman CID director Datuk Mohd Bakri age of manpower should no longer be
Zinin merely confirmed what many an excuse.
people have felt for a long time. For At the same time, if the number of
instance armed robberies have risen to foreigners in the country is a factor in
17,834 cases from January to October the rise in crime, better ways of recruit-
this year from a mere 3,691 cases for ing them for our labour needs and su-
the same period last year. pervising them need to be looked into.
Car thefts had increased by 2,534 The country is probably paying quite a
cases from 10,290 cases and house lot already because of the rise in crime
break-ins by 2,732 cases from 19,299 in recent years.
cases. Murder cases have also risen Must the people pay too?
Community needs extra
help to regain lost years
IT IS good that the government has set up a
cabinet committee to look into Indian socio-eco-
nomic concerns. The RM50 million allocated for
Tamil schools is also a welcome move that will
address the problem of dilapidated Tamil primary
schools, and provide young impressionable pupils
a good illustration of the good intentions of the
government.
However, the impoverished Indian community
needs a larger infusion of funds and incentives
from the government to regain the “lost years”
during which time it has sunk into a morass as
can be gauged by the widespread support for
Hindraf and the unprecedented dislike for the
MIC and other Indian groups. Socio-economic
concerns remain the main priority of Indians. The
federal and state governments need to offer a
wide range of assistance and affirmative action
programmes directly to the Indian community
without the need for intermediaries as they have
been found wanting in several aspects. There
must be a genuine and sincere effort to help the
poor Indians. As an example I wish to refer to
the RM1.5 billion shares offered by the govern-
ment to non-bumiputras over the last three
years. These shares provided in three tranches
of RM500 million each were snapped up by the
rich in record time. What was the purpose for
the sale of these shares? They were regarded
by many as a chance for the poor to own shares
with a higher rate of dividends and which could
be used for the future such as for financing
children’s education. If the government really
wanted to help the poor, especially Indians, it
could have reserved a portion of shares for their
subscription and given a grace period of, say, a
month. If Indians were allocated about 50 million
to 100 million shares of the 1.5 billion, so many
of the poor Indians could have benefited and the
government could have been looked upon as
Second thoughts
on oil
bonus proposal
I REFER to a quote in a recent report: “The DAP’s
proposed RM50 billion expansionary budget, Lim
said, would enable Malaysians to receive, among
others, a RM6,000 annual oil bonus to all families
earning less than RM6,000 and an immediate
reduction in petrol prices as well as electricity
tariffs.”
What is the basis for this annual oil bonus?
The global price of oil has already dropped drasti-
cally to around US$53 a barrel. And fuel prices at
the pump in Malaysia have already been reduced
by the federal government.
It was recently reported in the Saudi Gazette
that for the oil companies to break-even, the
price of oil needs to be between US$50-55 a
barrel. The Saudi king was reported to have said
that a “fair” price should be US$75 a barrel.
At current oil prices, Petronas will have less
revenue, make less profit and contribute less to
the federal government.
Lim Guan Eng wants to give away RM6,000
to each family. A majority of Malaysian families
are earning less than RM6,000 a month thus they
would all be eligible. This would mean a large
sum of money has to be given out as “annual oil
bonus”. And he is probably thinking that this is to
be tapped from Petronas funds.
Has he not heard of the saying, “if you give a
fish to a hungry man, he’ll finish it in one meal.
Teach him how to fish and he will be able to feed
his family for life”.
How does this large expenditure help to have
a “high-impact” effect on the economy?
Adri Hemy Abdul Ghani
Jeddah
Dog owners must play by the rules
IN MY neighbourhood, there are residents who
have no qualms in allowing their pets to do their
“business” everywhere except in front of their
own house.
I detest seeing dog poo on the road when
I go jogging and have done my bit to cover up
the mess. It is high time the local authorities
introduce legislation to compel dog owners to
remove their pet’s poo.
theSun | WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 3 2008
letters
letters@thesundaily.com
genuinely and sincerely helping Indians. Despite
numerous appeals and urgings by many, the
government failed to impose a quota for Indians
and other poor groups in need of such incentives.
The rich gobbled up the RM1.5 billion shares in
record time and became richer.
Indians should also not be grouped generally
as non-bumiputras for convenience as they lose
out in any share allocation or incentive scheme as
mentioned above. Indians should be classified as
Indians if the objective of helping the poor com-
munity is to be attained whether in share alloca-
tions, scholarships, government jobs, assistance
schemes for the setting up of industries, SMEs,
business or the provision of licences, contracts
and other incentives. None who claim to be rep-
resenting Indians had the foresight to be aware of
the train of events that saw thousands of Indians
displaced by development of the estates in the
last 30 years ending up in urban slums. It was an
escape from one ghetto to another and the re-
sulting despondency has made a definitive mark
on the marginalised Indians – poverty, unemploy-
ment, dropouts, gangsterism, alcoholism, social
ills, single mothers, crime etc. All are now paying
the price for the years of neglect, as there was no
one to give the youngsters a helping hand during
their formative years. The government needs to
draw from past experience and episodes and
help the community through whatever means
possible to ensure that Indians become a healthy
component of a progressive Malaysia.
V. Thomas
Sungai Buloh
All right to
receive fees
IS IT a criminal offence to earn one’s living by
giving lectures? Why is Datuk Dr Sheikh Mus-
zaphar under investigation? He has admitted
that he has received contributions but he has
also said that he has given talks in schools and
universities without charge.
Many renowned world figures such as
Henry Kissinger, Tony Blair and his wife Cherie,
former US president Bill Clinton have been
paid for their time.
Has Dr Sheikh Muszaphar broken the law?
The fact that the government spent RM32 mil-
lion on the space mission or that he earned
RM1.2 million for his lectures is irrelevant.
There is no reason why he cannot receive
payment from the corporate sector. Whether
it is ethical is debatable.
C.H.Yap
Via email
Tainted officials blot
sports development
I REFER to “ A matter of perception” (Dec 2).
We know our sports is in a mess. What more
with tainted personnel? And yet we want to
succeed. You must be be joking!
But I also see we have tainted people in
politics. Let us get to the bottom on matters
raised by Terence Fernandez.
He said much, but I believe more was left
unsaid. Let us say it as in theSun’s tagline
– Telling it as it is.
Bulbir Singh
Via email
Then there’s the question of how many dogs
can be kept in a terrace house or a corner lot? I
have a neighbour who owns more than two dogs
and never keeps them on a leash. Their dogs have
been seen chasing after the newspaper delivery
man and children.
Michael Ng
Seremban