Voon Shiak Ni
KUCHING: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has called on the state government to consider the possibility of installing closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) at all traffic light junctions in the state.
According to PKR Women national vice-president Voon Shiak Ni, it is about time for the state government to look into this matter as 50 per cent of street shootings this year occurred at traffic light junctions, while the victims were on the road.
“We observed that traffic junctions are among the most crime-prone spots for street shootings,” she said yesterday.
Voon, who is also PKR Stampin vice-chairperson, highlighted that the murder of former PKR Miri secretary Bill Kayong took place at a traffic light junction near Emart Miri, and that there was no CCTV within a 200m radius of that area.
“Had there been any CCTV within that range, there would have been additional evidence to help trace and prosecute the murderer.”
She recalled that in 2012, the brutal shooting of a businessman also occurred at a traffic light junction in Miri. Since then, she said there had been street shooting cases recorded in Malaysia annually, with 31 cases in 2013.
“The spate of street shootings is on the rise in the country, with alarming figures as high as 10 cases between June and July this year.”
As such, Voon called on the state government through local councils to look into the possibility of putting up CCTVs at all traffic light junctions, as a measure to deter this crime.
She highlighted a snatching case that happened in Padungan here recently. Voon said the perpetrator – who had used a ‘parang’ (machete) to threaten the victim into surrendering her handbag – was arrested within 48 hours after the police report was lodged; thanks to footage obtained from a CCTV.
“Allocation of funds to enhance public security should always come first, if the government of the day is truly one that is people-centric.”
On another subject related to crime, Voon said she was unsure of the number of firearms in circulation in Malaysia, although Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – also Home Affairs Minister – recently disclosed that more than 89,000 Malaysians had been issued licences to bear firearms.
The figure, she believed, could be higher as it did not include the number of firearms smuggled in across the borders.
Such concern, Voon said, was fuelled further by an admission from Ahmad Zahid, who said it was not an easy job to detect the smugglers as it could be anybody bringing in illegal weapons in parts, fixing and assembling them before selling them here.
Voon said the enforcement at immigration points must also be tightened.
“The government cannot take any chances by letting illegal weapons flood the market, which would be a disaster to public security. If such scenario happened, it would be impossible to contain.”