FORUM ON URBAN POVERTY & INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN MALAYSIA: Dialogue with PDRM on Crime Prevention Initiatives with the Community

Tuesday 27 August 2013

Dialogue with PDRM on Crime Prevention Initiatives with the Community

Dato Wira Ayub chairing the dialogue session

PDRM has taken a number of new initiatives in working with local communities. The major step was the establishment of a new department for Crime Prevention under the directorship of Dato Wira Ayub Bin Hj Yaakob and the engagement approaches adopted by this team through E Sector Policing.

A number of us visited PDRM on August 27, 2013 from 3pm till 5.30pm to discusses the issues surrounding the rise in serious crime and implications for the Malaysian Indian community especially with Police data released recently that 71% of those involved in gang related serious crime are from the Indian community.

In the course of discussion a number of key points were discussed and a number of specific interventions were agreed upon for immediate follow up action:-

· Crime Prevention though community Policing and community engagement is a key strategy adopted by PDRM in fostering close working relationship with local communities in addressing crime.

· A two way process of mutual understanding, respect and trust is needed in overcoming crime in society through good working relationship between PDRM and local communities.

· On the Indian community and Indian issues – the background structural issues of displacement from the plantations to urban squatters to high-rise, low-cost flats and the lack of educational, training and employment opportunities are root issues which need social remedies though the intervention of relevant agencies.

· That Indian community issues must be viewed not as communal issues/ethnic concerns but national concerns which require multi-sector intervention

· Adopting a holistic intervention strategy balancing ‘law and order’ with ‘winning hearts and minds’ by addressing socio-economic needs among the urban poor is most urgent.

· Developing an action agenda though multi agency (all relevant agencies like youth, welfare, employment, housing & local government, Police) and multi-sector involvement (Public, private and voluntary) is now necessary.

· Adopting a neighbourhood approach for crime prevention through addressing socio-economic issues and concerns by addressing human needs concerns especially in urban poor neighbourhoods which is at high risk for crime and violence is most critical.

· Pilot testing of community Policing in the 10 neighbourhoods where KITA-UKM undertook community profiling with the support of JPNIN and the RT. Field visits and community dialogues with neighbourhood leaders will be organised.

· Datuk Dr Denison will forward the KITA-UKM study report to PDRM via Dato Wan Najmuddin for further study and review

· PDRM has agreed to give full cooperation and support to these neighbourhood partnerships in fostering community policing to address serious crime with local communities. This will be part of the pilot setting of a holistic intervention approach at the neighbourhood level.

The Police were represented by Dato Wira Ayub Bin Hj Yaakob (Director), Dato Wan A.Najmuddin Mohd (Deputy), Dato Rusli Bin Ahmad (Deputy) and officers from public relations and CID

The visiting team members were Datuk A Vathilingam, Prof KS Nathan, Dato Siva Subramanium, Ms Jasmine Adaickalam, Ms Roova Li and Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria

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FORUM- URBAN POVERTY & INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT

This Forum is a community project which has a strong focus on monitoring delivery and implementation.

The action research component is coordinated by Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria, Principle Research Fellow, Institute of Ethnic Studies, UKM

A voluntary team including Datuk A.Vaithilingam, Dato Siva Subramanium, Prof KS Nathan & Mrs Jasmine Adaickalam are working together with a wider group of volunteers to ensure the sustainability of this initiative.

As a team we are non political and will work with all persons and agencies at a Federal, State and local government which have a public responsibility to serving the poor and low income families

We believe that all citizens are equal and have the same human rights and human responsibilities as defined in the Federal Constitution & Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

For further details contact:
Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria

Email: jayasooriadenison@gmail.com
or sms 019 3810914

Postal address:
P.O.Box S-15, Sentul, 51700 Kuala Lumpur

Declaration on the Rights of Ethnic & Religious Minorities

Article 1.1 States shall protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of
minorities within their respective territories and shall encourage conditions for the promotion of that
identity.
.
Article 2:1 Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, and to use their own language, in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form
of discrimination.

For more details:
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuideMinoritiesDeclarationen.pdf

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

Article 1:1. In this Convention, the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.

Article 1:4. Special measures taken for the sole purpose of securing adequate advancement of certain racial or ethnic groups or individuals requiring such protection as may be necessary in order to ensure such groups or individuals equal enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms shall not be deemed racial discrimination, provided, however, that such measures do not, as a consequence, lead to the maintenance of separate rights for different racial groups and that they shall not be continued after the objectives for which they were taken have been achieved.

For more details:-
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CERD.aspx