Yolanda Graham never
leaves home without her vial of homemade self- defence spray these days.
The
33-year-old executive, who is single, would rather be safe than sorry.
Despite
the latest Malaysian government statistics showing a steady drop in crime, many
residents have been spooked by a recent spate of robberies targeting women and
abductions in the Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur areas.
"I
am constantly looking out for suspicious people in carparks, and I especially
avoid taking the lift alone with a man," website editor Jennifer Tan, 34,
told The Straits Times. The police and shopping malls need to beef up security,
she said.
This
week, the government released figures showing that Selangor has seen a 19.4 per
cent drop in the crime rate since 2009. Across the country, the figure dropped
by 24.7 per cent.
A
statement from the Home Ministry on Wednesday said the overall crime level fell
from 211,645 cases in 2008 to 157,891 last year.
The
ministry retracted figures released earlier this week which showed a nearly 12
per cent jump in crime in Selangor last year from 2010, citing
"typographical errors".
However,
analysts say the public's continuing perception that street crime remains
rampant could hurt the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) ahead of a general election
expected to be held this year.
It
is the federal government's responsibility to fight and prevent crime.
"Statistics
can be interpreted differently, but when the public perception is that crime is
rising... (then) the government should focus on correcting this," said
political analyst Shaharuddin Baharuddin of Universiti Teknologi Mara in Shah
Alam.
Crime
and public safety was ranked the second most important issue in the country
after rising prices and inflation, in a survey done by the independent Merdeka
Centre for Opinion Research after the March 2008 general election.
In
January 2010, Prime Minister Najib Razak launched his ambitious Government
Transformation Programme to address seven key areas concerning the people, one
of which was reducing crime.
But
unless the government can calm public anxiety about the crime rate, "it's
going to reflect badly" on the BN, said Dr Shaharuddin.
Social
media and blogs have been full of pictures and stories of street crime, such as
consultant Evon Chung's account of being robbed on June 12 in a shopping mall
in the heart of the city.
"I
still cannot believe that I have been robbed and almost killed," she wrote
on Facebook, adding that the mall was indifferent to her plight when she
reported the incident.
A
25-year-old woman who foiled an abduction bid in the basement carpark of a
popular mall in the Damansara suburb on May 27 also gave an account of how she
escaped from her two assailants.
The
following day, two women were robbed of 80,000 ringgit (US$25,200) at the same
shopping mall.
Following
the attacks, Selangor police chief Hisan Hamzah urged mall owners to organise
drills for their security personnel while promising that the police would work
more closely with the malls.
Earlier,
on April 27, the abduction of a 12-year- old Dutch boy grabbed national
headlines and caused unease among expatriates in Kuala Lumpur. Nayati Moodliar
was freed after his family reportedly paid a ransom of 300,000 ringgit
($94,500).
It
is such incidents that prompted Graham, who lives in Damansara, to concoct her
own self-defence spray with household items like eucalyptus oil, baby oil,
bleach and chilli essence. She exchanges 'recipes' with her equally concerned
female colleagues, she said.
The
government has tried to downplay growing concern by stressing that the recent
cases were isolated incidents.
National
police spokesman Ramli Yusoff pointed out that the crimes took place in private
areas such as mall carparks where there is no police presence.
Lester
Kong
The
Straits Times
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