Thesun 2009-08-03 Page05 Najib We Ll Provide Venues For Peaceful Gatherings

theSun

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| MONDAY AUGUST 3 2009

news without borders

Minister explains purpose of Safe City Initiative by Eva Yeong [email protected]

KUALA LUMPUR: The Safe City Initiative announced in October 2004 is to reduce opportunities for crime, and not to prevent crime entirely, said Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha. “It is to reduce and make it difficult for crime to happen, specifically street and property crime, not violent crime,” he said. The ministry has not abandoned the 23-step initiative, he said. Kong was responding to an article headlined ‘Safe cities: Will they materialise?’ published in theSun on July 28, where columnist Goh Ban Lee wrote:

“Malaysians could be forgiven if they conclude that the ministry has abandoned the Safe City Initiative. Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha owes the public an explanation.” Kong said 38 out of a total of 104 local authorities in the country have adopted the initiative, with some having implemented all 23 steps while others have implemented the effort to a certain extent. The number of local authorities which adopt the measures and the extent to which they implement the 23 steps are out of the ministry’s control, he said. “We can provide guidelines, but if the local authorities don’t follow,

there’s not much we can do. People must understand that local authorities come under the state government,” he said. Kong said local authorities are encouraged to adopt the 23 steps but there is no law compelling them to do so. “All local authorities are aware of the measures, and some have implemented them to a certain extent. Of course, we would like all of them to participate and adopt the measures but there isn’t a definitive number or percentage on the effectiveness of the measures,” he said. He said while some of the 23 steps may be implemented by local authorities, other steps may be implemented

by individual property developers in their development projects. Each local authority also has its own measures and to varying extent, therefore it is difficult to measure the effectiveness, he said. Some local authorities also implement fewer than 23 steps, depending on how developed the local authorities are and the affordability of the steps. For example, installation of CCTVs are costly, he said. “We assist local authorities in whatever way we can, for example, guiding them, providing officers with training and advice such as the best areas to install CCTVs. We’ve also given them funding, and upon request have approved (funding) according to

what we can afford,” said Kong. “As far as crime prevention is concerned, it is more than just this safe city programme; it is about creating awareness, mindset and culture among the people from a young age,” he said. “We have to get to the root of the problem. To me, crime is something that people commit due to other reasons and the most basic reason is drug abuse. Some crimes are manifestations of drug problems,” he said. On the availability of information on the Safe City Initiative such as steps implemented by the various local authorities, Kong said it is up to the individual local authorities to disseminate such details.

Najib: We’ll provide venues for peaceful gatherings 560 anti-ISA demonstrators released by Charles Ramendran [email protected]

KUALA LUMPUR: Police released 560 out of 589 people who were detained on Saturday for taking part in a rally organised by the Anti-ISA Movement (GMI) against the Internal Security Act (ISA), including a 13-year-old boy. Police had their hands full when an estimated 15,000 people took part in the antiISA rally which caused massive traffic jams, road closures and chaos in the city. Another group of about 120 people who were in support of maintaining the ISA launched their own rally at the same time.None of the pro-ISA protesters were detained. Following their arrest between 8am and 9pm on Saturday, the detainees were sent to several police lock-ups including that at the Bukit Jalil police station and Petaling Jaya police station. Kuala Lumpur police chief DCP Datuk Mohd Sabtu Osman said 40 women and 20 teenagers under the age of 17 were among those arrested. The top figure detained was PKR deputy president R. Sivarasa who is still being held at the Bukit Jalil police station as at 5pm yesterday. Earlier, a female magistrate known only as Naziah arrived at the station to issue remand orders for those still in custody. Fifteen lawyers from the Legal Aid Bureau and the Bar Council’s Human Rights Committee were also there to

negotiate their release. Sivarasa and 28 others, who have been remanded for two days, are expected to be charged in court today for taking part in the rally. About 100 people comprising Pakatan Rakyat members, supporters and families of the detainees gathered outside the police station as early as 6am. Among them was Bad Latiff Mansur, 43, the father of the 13-year-old teenager who was picked up together with his mother. Bad Latiff said his wife and son had gone shopping and were detained outside the Sogo shopping centre on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. The teenager was released from the police station at about 2pm yesterday. Lawyer Johnny Chan said he was disappointed with the welfare department for failing to intervene in the arrest of minors. “We do not want children to be dragged into political issues. The welfare department failed to respond until the teenager was released,” he said. He said police had proposed a remand order be issued on the teenagers as well but it was rejected by the magistrate. Mohd Sabtu said the 560 protesters were released on bail after having their statements recorded. He said police are investigating the case for illegal assembly and also under the Societies Act to determine if the GMI was a legally registered body.

Police fire a volley from a water cannon on Saturday.

MUAR: The government is prepared to provide suitable venues like stadiums for the people to hold peaceful gatherings instead of parading in the streets and inconveniencing others, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak. “We can provide them stadiums where they can shout themselves hoarse till dawn, but don’t cause disturbance in the streets,” said Najib when commenting on the illegal assemblies organised in the federal capital on Saturday. The demonstrators, numbering some 10,000, were protesting against the Internal Security Act (ISA). Najib, who is also Umno president, told reporters after opening Pagoh Umno’s annual delegates meeting here yesterday that the government was leaving it to

briefs ‘RM100-200m lost due to illegal demo’ KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Territory Ministry estimated yesterday that losses incurred by businesses as well as the damage to property as a result of the illegal demonstration on Saturday were between RM100 million and RM200 million. Its minister, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, said his staff will go to the locations today to assess the losses and damage. “We will try to get all estimates of losses and damage and it will be in the millions. At least, my estimate is between RM100 million and RM200 million,” he told reporters after officiating at the 1Malaysia carnival themed ‘Realising the Country’s Vision’ organised by the Desa Tasik Residents Association. Raja Nong Chik said the estimate would also take into consideration that Saturday was a weekend and people were out shopping and it was close to Hari Raya. – Bernama

Emulate the Chinese for business acumen BUTTERWORTH: Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan advised Malays to emulate the Chinese if they

the police whether to take action against opposition leaders who were involved in Saturday’s street demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur. Also present was Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the division’s chief. Najib said police had a duty to preserve peace and order, and did not want incidents like Saturday’s to continue unabated. “It is up to the authorities (whether to take action against the leaders involved). Street demonstrations should not continue and the authorities can take action,” he said. He said the opposition was using demonstrations for “political capital” in trying to paint the government as being cruel. Police detained 589 people who were among the participants of the

illegal assemblies in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Muhammad Sabtu Osman had said police would investigate the involvement of opposition leaders in the demonstrations, among them Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali, Batu MP Tian Chua, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, PAS president Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang and PAS central committee member Mohamad Sabu. The demonstrations brought traffic to a standstill in a number of roads in the city besides causing difficulties for traders and city folk. – Bernama

are keen to excel in business. He said the Chinese way of doing business must be emulated to raise the economic position of the community, especially in localities where they were a minority. He said their economic success could then be shared with the other people in their locality. “The Chinese make up only 25% of the total population of the country but have succeeded in the economic sector and raised their economic position,” he said after opening the Bagan Umno division delegates meeting here yesterday. Ahmad, who is a deputy minister in the prime minister’s department, also said these examples of the Chinese should be emulated by the Malays in areas such as Bagan, Jelutong, Bukit Bendera, Tanjong and Bukit Mertajam where they were smaller in number than the non-bumiputras. – Bernama

however, did not cause a major fire or damage to the ATM machines. The three banks involved – Public Bank, AMbank and Maybank are located in Taman Samudera, Sitiawan. He said police were investigating the incident and would view recordings from the closed-circuit TV (CCTV) installed at the respective banks. “We are not certain of the motive ...but initial investigations reveal that some men in a car had thrown the molotov cocktails,” he said.

Explosive strike on three ATM machines IPOH: Police are investigating an incident in Sitiawan where a group of men in a car threw molotov cocktails on three separate ATM machines situated at three banks in Sitiawan, about 80km from here early yesterday morning. Manjung district police chief ACP Jamil Osman said the incidents, which occurred between 1am and 3am,

» Why do Malaysians march? page 12

Enough sugar, says minister PETALING JAYA: The government has given an assurance that there is sufficient sugar supply and there will be no price increase until the end of the year. Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob also reminded traders not to hoard sugar to see if the government would raise the price. That will not happen, he said after opening a restaurant in Damansara Utama yesterday. On the possibility of the smuggling of sugar given that the price here is lower than that in neighbouring countries, Ismail Sabri said his ministry will discuss this with the sugar industry, police, customs and anti-smuggling units today. – Bernama