text:
The Fight Against Crime
(It always pays to have another set of eyes on the street for catch criminals in their act. The role of CCTVs in prevention of crime cannot be dismissed – it works 24 by 7 and 365 days without taking rest and it is impartial too. Infographic source: http://visual.ly)
The month April proving to be an interesting month for me
We have walked into the age of GST and the night before was rather comical – I saw a family piling up their grocery items onto the trolley to the brim. Didn't they know that naturally there will be some items which will see the price going down with GST and there will be some with increased price?
The issues that will come with the introduction of GST maybe too early to comment. It is one good way to ensure that the Government gets its money for the development of the country. After all the, the oil and gas industry is not doing well and hence there would be less income for the Government. But there will be issues, no doubt especially with how the Government will be using the money from the GST collected (hope they will not be buying new plane and politicians taking too many overseas trips). I hope they don't shoot themselves in the leg by imposing GST but at the same time, maintain their lavish lifestyle, wastage and unnecessary overseas trips.
Anyway, let's move on with another news. Amidst the arrests a number of journalists recently and many arguments for and against hudud, PAS finally asked the right question:-
PAS Selangor Youth, claimed in a statement on Wednesday that hudud was the answer to the rising crime rate in the country and if DAP, for one, was against the punishment, it should counter-propose solutions.
Finally an intelligent question and it should be interesting to see how DAP counter propose solutions to fight crime in this country. Actually it is a good question for any political party out there and citizens who may not agree that we need another set of laws in this country to fight country. If you ask me, there are couple of things can be done or rather, should be revisited.
For start, how about re-looking into how we can tighten up the security and vetting of "visitors" coming into the country, not for business or pleasure but rather for a more sinister reasons:-
A 45-year-old commandant of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) was detained by the Malaysian Police Counter Terrorism unit in Kuala Lumpur on January 31. Intelligence sources said the man from the Middle East who arrived here mid-January was detained at a four-star hotel near Bukit Bintang
In the past, the police have arrested a number of foreigners involved in terrorism. How they managed to slip into the country unnoticed?
And if you have read the previous blog posts, enough have probably been said on the so-called Nigerian "students" who end up caught for drug related offences. The same have been mentioned on the Iranians. And before that, the many illegal Indonesians and Filipinos. Things have improved especially with the creation of MMEA and the establishment of ESSZONE and the biometrics exercise. But there are still areas that need to be improved especially with the foreigners coming in from the Thailand and via KLIA2. Still remember the famed Latin American criminals?
And since early 2014, we had Operation Cantas which proves rather success:-
Police arrested 44,343 suspects in 'Op Cantas Khas' until Dec 31, last year since the nationwide special anti-crime operation was launched on Aug 17. Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the operation obviously had positive results, whereby the crime index dropped by 4.3 per cent.
Then there was a glimpse of "hope" when the government announced this:-
If you buy a motorcycle for your son and he rides it without a licence, you will now have to pay a RM300 fine. On top of that, your son will be fined RM300 for the offence — which obviously you have to pay. If you are unable to pay the RM600, the police keeps the bike.
The new ruling which comes into force on February 2, will affect thousands of parents who buy small motorcycles for their children to go to school. These students have been involved in minor accidents that go unreported and are also known to have joined Mat Rempit in illegal road races.
Interestingly I almost knock down 2 boys on the motorcycle, clearly under aged and not wearing helmet and was riding on the wrong side of the road. No police around to catch these pests and get their parents down to the station. And last week, I was on the way back from donating blood and I used the Federal Highway and traffic was heavy as usual. My dad was sitting next to me and remarked that it was an unnecessary traffic jam and he was right. One main reason there was a traffic jam was due to the shameless idiots who use the emergency lane and cuts into the main lane.
Obviously we cannot expect the police to be around at all places and time. There are better things for them to do. There was a dire shortage of men in blue as well.
The IGP reckons that the force need to recruit between 6,000 and 7,000 new personnel every year. He even said that the country need more policemen to effectively carry out policing matters nationwide. That is a valid point – without enough men on the ground, policing would certainly be less effective. But moving forward, it was disappointing to hear the same IGP despite the dire shortage of men in the force, he rather harp on monitoring the social medias.
Yes, he may not have meant it that way but certainly his statement in light of crime and shortage of men did not go well with most Malaysians. This perception need to be changed drastically. The police can still keep their monitoring over the social media but let a specialised team in cyber laws to police to do it. Does it really need an IGP to do the monitoring himself? That is certainly not the right allocation of resources. The IGP has better things to do, I am sure.
And to help with the shortage of men in blue, the local authorities (instead of private companies, to avoid argument of cronyism) can further assist by installing more CCTVs at key areas and do the monitoring on behalf.
In that sense, AES would have greatly help to enforce the traffic laws. But no thanks to the oppositions who barked on the wrong issue and a government with a flip-flop mind, enforcement via AES was put on hold. That was a wrong move indeed. They should bring back the enforcement by AES and by a greater number. This will assist the police to reallocate resources for other work.
We don't need another law but we certainly need to improve on how we enforce the law. That is what is more important. That is what the country needs. And that's where we need to focus our energy, time and resources on.
Ways To Protect Your Life: Crime Prevention
Crime prevention committee launched
Security And Well-Being Of Poor Countries Suffer Threats – UN
Banks told to install CCTV cameras
Drivers warned after spate of thefts from vehicles in Liverpool city centre
Bengaluru police to deploy facial recognition tool
Moorestown Police Department Surveillance Camera Registration Program
Crime Stoppers Needs Your Help
Police Use DNA to Catch Alleged ATM Thief
Posted on 3 April 2015 by B.JoePosted in Enforcement, Ideals, Law, Malaysia, Malaysian Politicians, Malaysian Politics, Police, ReligionTagged Crime, Enforcement, Hudud, IGP, Law, Malaysia, Malaysian Police Counter Terrorism, Police, prevention of crime, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, the Government. 1 Comment
Crime, Crime, Crime
I will be on a long hiatus from next week onwards – I will be away on a "mission" and internet connection may be almost non-existence. Besides, I intend to use whatever little free time I have on finishing on a very thick book that I had put away since last year (it was just too thick for me to start and I always opt for a thinner one) and of course catching on sleep (the new Boss is back to be very active at night). Hopefully when I come back, the police had score the big one by nabbing a good number of hired killers and sent them to the gallows for cold blood murders.
(The biggest headache for the nation at the moment – we have multiple shooting and hired killers on the loose. The next question is whether it is just a tip of the iceberg in the wave of crime confronting the country. Image source: http://www.straitstimes.com)
In the meantime and while the Government seems to be at lost over almost 23 incidents of shooting over the last 2 months and only now they want to stand-up and "wear their pants" on beefing up the police force (shouldn't they done that eons ago?) and tighten the preventive laws, as a parent myself, I think we should not also miss the focus of stopping crime at the start and ensure there is no rise of young offenders who in turn end up becoming the filth of the filth in the country. With that, go ahead and read this:-
The father of a 14-year-old boy who was found murdered near some bushes in Taman Mewah, Kamunting, suspects that his son may have been killed due to a misunderstanding. Supervisor A. Manimaran, 46, claimed his son M. Nathaniel was involved in a minor accident with a group of youths a week ago. "My son, who was riding my motorcycle, had been involved in a minor accident with another motorcyclist. There could have been some misunderstanding from there.
Lost in translation is the question how could the 14-years old be riding around in a motorcycle when the minimum age to ride a motorcycle in this country is 16 years old and that too with a valid license. It's obvious that no only the deceased was under-aged to ride a motorcycle; he was also riding around without a valid license. I won't be surprised if the deceased was not wearing a helmet at the time too. And such problem is nothing new in many housing areas in the country where we have under-aged riders riding around unsupervised and without license (the usual "tak apa" attitude). It is quite understandable if we don't have the police rushing into the housing area to round these youngsters up for riding around without license or helmet – these cases very likely to be rated the lowest in the police's list of priorities when it comes to fighting crime (seriously they have a bigger issue at hand and that includes the alleged involvement of the police with the criminal underworld). It is quite understandable too as some of these youngsters are also our neighbour kids and we know them from small and thus not keen to chase them with a baseball bat to stop them (whacking snatch thieves to a pulp on the other hand is another ball game all together).
It does not matter if there were some misunderstanding or there were other idiots in the picture – the end of the story is tragic – someone's young son is dead. Thus it is indeed important to relook at this nuisance (and breaking of the law) from the aspect of parenting and how some parents could be dumb enough to be allowing these youngsters to ride around without any license and helmet (let's leave the impact of the education system on the young minds for now – there have been too many flip-flops on the education blueprint on the simplest thing like language to use for Science and Mathematics). Of course, some takes the notion of dumbness to a whole new level by allowing the young "abang" to take the infant "adik" (both of course riding around without wearing any helmet) for ride around the housing area and without any supervision. One cannot blame the kids to riding around without helmets and license – the fact that the parents themselves allow the kids to ride a motorcycle (intentionally or unintentionally) means that the kids could do anything. And without a good parenting and a good sense of discipline and education, some of kids have been spoilt to the core and became a bigger nuisance to others.
And when some of these harmless law breakers started to venture to something more sinister for cheap kicks and quick money, you will have this in the papers:-
The police have arrested two men believed to be involved in the snatch theft and attack on Dr Delaila Ahmad, in her 50s, in Subang Jaya on Tuesday. Selangor acting police chief Datuk A. Thaiveegan said the suspects aged 20 and 22 years old respectively were arrested at about 6am today in SS17, Subang Jaya. "They were arrested based on information from the public and family members of one of the suspects," he told reporters at Subang Jaya district police headquarters today.
The police are still investigating the case and the victim is still being being treated at the Sime Darby Medical Centre in Subang Jaya. Delaila, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, was attacked by parang-wielding men as she was leaving her polyclinic in Jalan SS 19/6, Subang Jaya at 1.20am on Tuesday.
They are barely into their twenties and yet they are brave enough to rob a doctor with parang and slash her fingers without any hesitations. And despite their young age and some argument for reforms instead of punishment, the rest of us (I am very certain) would be praying that they would be locked away behind bars for the rest of their life (although unfortunately Section 326 of the Penal Code only carries a maximum imprisonment for 20 years). We do not need selfish & dangerous youngsters like these in our society and making it a living hell for the rest of us. It is just too bad that the Government had not thought of making armed snatch-theft (or any crime that causes injuries to others for argument sake) punishable with mandatory death by hanging. Do that (and of course couple that with good enforcement of the law & prosecution) and you will see how fast the serious crime statistics drops.
Back in 2011, this was reported:-
"The rate of crimes committed by youths has increased over the past two years although the overall crime index in the country has decreased," he said after launching the "6 in 1" Crime Prevention and Healthy Living Community Service Project at Seri Petaling here. He said according to police statistics, students' involvement in crimes had increased from 1,409 in 2009 to 1,947 in 2010, causing the crime index involving youths to increase by 38%. "As for non-students, the crime cases have increased from 2,245 in 2009 to 3,218 in 2010, marking an increase of 43.3%.
"Youths are increasingly involved in violent and property crimes like physical aggression, rape cases, snatch thefts and robberies," he said. He reminded parents to make time for their children even if they were busy working.
And in 2012, something similar was echoed:-
Students from Form One to Form Three have been identified as the biggest contributors to juvenile crime, according to a research by the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (MPCF). The agency said there was a three-fold increase in crimes committed by students aged between 13 and 15 compared with other age groups. Its national vice-chairman, Datuk Kamarudin Ali, said many students in lower secondary level had fallen from grace upon reaching adolescence, partly due to unsupervised Internet use such as social networking sites, especially Facebook.
If one argues that it is a case poverty and lack of education & opportunities had led these youngsters into committing serious crime, then think again. There are thousand others who are in the same predicament but have held their heads up the water and turned around things for them and their family (still remember the girl who passed her exams by studying under public street light?). It's sad that some parents simply don't give a damn when it comes to looking into what their kid do and say and when the situation requires for it, discipline and educate them. I call my son "The Boss" but if he does something wrong (and it rarely happens), he knows what's coming from me and my wife – punishment old school (I am sure many of us would recall how our parents and some of our teachers used to whack us with a thick cane for the smallest mistakes we did when we were small).
When it comes to parenting, one aspect of making sure that the kids do and say the right thing is by setting a good example – if some adults themselves are riding around the housing area without any helmets (and acting like primates on the road), then how one can expect their kids to be wearing one. In the case of 20 years old snatch thief – at least the parents did set a fine example to other (parents) – if your kid is in fault and you know that he is in fault, do the right thing and turn them in to the police for due process. Yes, it is hard for any parents to see their kids behind bars but if they had tried their best to discipline the kids and failed for one reason or another, they have no other choice.
Good discipline and setting good examples at the end of the day must be coupled with good education and high morality. There must be a constant preaching of "do the right things" and "do what's fair" to our kids to ensure that they are often reminded on what is wrong and what is right. Yes, "doing what's right and fair" may be something very subjective but most parents just have to put a bit of the thinking cap and a good dose of reasonableness and fairness (simply do to others on what you expect others to do to you and you are on safe grounds). If we do that effectively, we will not have delusional 20 year-olds walking around with parang and cutting off people's fingers for quick cash.
Have a good weekend and in case I could not get "online", happy holidays and Selamat Hari Raya…
In Defense of PDRM (dinmerican.wordpress.com)
Rising Crime Rate is Cause for Worry (dinmerican.wordpress.com)
More Police Power, says the NST Editorial (dinmerican.wordpress.com)
Malaysia Worries Over a Crime Wave (irrawaddy.org)
Crime Watcher shot, banker killed; are Malaysia sliding to a state of lawlessness? (rightways.wordpress.com)
Malaysia Police Hunt Contract Killers in Bahraini Banker's Death – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
PM Najib urges immediate action in fighting serious crime (channelnewsasia.com)
Banker 'contract killing' stokes Malaysia crime fears (channelnewsasia.com)
Becoming Latin America Gangland (balajoe27.wordpress.com)
M'sia back to the days of Al Capone (hornbillunleashed.wordpress.com)
Posted on 2 August 2013 by B.JoePosted in Children, Crime, Enforcement, Government, Justice, Law, Malaysia, NewsTagged Chief of police, Crime, Criminal, Government, hired killers, Law, Motorcycle helmet, Parenting, Parents, Police, Snatch Thief, Youth. Leave a comment
Becoming Latin America Gangland
(Business Insider last year reported that 20 out of the top 50 dangerous cities lies in Latin America and that itself speaks for the level of criminals from that region. If left unchecked and the severity of the issue is taken for granted, this country will be overrun by them and Malaysia would end up as one of the dangerous places to be in – although this website already claim it to be. Image source: http://visual.ly)
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have identified the gangs involved in the recent string of ATM break-ins here – and one of them is said to be a group of Latin Americans. City CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah said police had identified more than three groups as being involved in cases reported in Kuala Lumpur so far this year. "We know how many gangs are involved but none has been arrested yet," he said at the city police headquarters in Jalan Hang Tuah yesterday. "Some of the gangs are also involved in house break-ins."
SAC Ku said police had identified two different modus operandi for the gangs. "One group would attempt to pull the machine using chains fastened to a truck. The other modus operandi is cutting through the machines using oxy-acetylene torches," he added. On July 6, robbers failed to break into a cash deposit machine at a bank in Jalan Chow Kit here – the fourth such case in the Klang Valley in just four days. Three ATMs were hit on the same day in Cheras, Puchong and Kepong on July 3.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is being "promoted" as a choice destination for Latin Americans but for sinister reasons. Criminals who came here from the Latin America regions where Spanish and Portuguese are primarily spoken are said to be returning home to spread the word that breaking into Malaysian homes is easy. "They go back and tell their friends that there is easy money in Malaysia," city CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah said at a press conference yesterday.
He said the criminals entered the country with forged documents and conveniently "lost" them later. "When arrested, they say they have no documents and clamp up on the pretext of not knowing English. We have to get the help of a translator to question them." SAC Ku said last week, the city police nabbed four Latin Americans, believed to be from Colombia, in connection with several house break-ins in the capital. The four men, aged between 19 and 28, were arrested at a condominium in Taman Desa following a tip-off from residents on Oct 19. Police recovered laptops, cameras, branded handbags, watches and four fake firearms. SAC Ku said the police were on the lookout for other gang members who are still at large.
The police are tracing a Latin American woman suspected of being involved in a robbery attempt in which two of her countrymen were detained at Jalan Ampang, last Friday. Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Ku Chin Wah said the woman, in her 30s, was wanted in connection with an attempt to rob a man who had just withdrawn RM30,000 from a bank about 3.30pm on June 14.
"The victim had been approached by two men in an Alphard multi-purpose vehicle on the pretext of helping him with a flat tyre. They then tried to grab his bag containing the cash. "The suspects were nabbed by a police patrol team which happened to be at the scene. But the woman, who was driving the Alphard, sped off when she saw her friends being caught," he said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.
Latin Americans appear to have taken over from Nigerians as the biggest foreign scammers in Malaysia. Besides theft and robbery, they are also becoming notorious for cheating people through trickery and impersonation. They are usually dressed smartly and move around in groups of more than three in flashy rented cars. Kuala Lumpur police CID chief SAC Datuk Ku Chin Wah said today that police were unable to ascertain which countries they are from as they are believed to carry fake passports.
He said they were behind the cases of automated teller machine thefts and several high-profile crimes such as the theft of medical endoscopy equipment worth more than RM4.5 million that was stolen from the University Malaya Medical Centre and two private hospitals here and in Kajang in June last year. "We are questioning them to find out more about their shady activities here. But often there is a language barrier as these foreigners claim they do not speak English."
Before anyone can claim that this blog is "unfairly prejudice" against foreign criminals, let's state the obvious fact – Malaysians (from all races and not limited to a few Indian youths) still top the list when it comes to committing crime in this country. And it has been a never-ending cat & mouse game between the authorities and these criminals (sometimes we do score the big one). It remains a big headache for the country and hopefully the new laws replacing the repealed Emergency Ordinance (some claimed had caused some 2,000 EO detainees to go scot-free) will be used effectively to curtail the criminals and their criminal activities. And whilst there is no doubt that the bulk of the blame on the rising crime falls on the locals, we cannot eliminate foreign criminals and law-breakers from the equation:-
Almost five in every 10 prisoners in Malaysian prisons are foreigners. And statistics by the Prisons Department reveal that there was a 14 percent increase in the number of foreign inmates between 2006 and 2009. According to statistics by the Malaysian Prison Department, about 52 percent of prisoners in the country are foreigners. The highest was recorded in 2007 where 82,987 prisoners were foreigners as compared to 66, 272 locals.
Foreigners are responsible for 30 per cent of index crime in Sabah, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants heard today amid a perceived spike in criminal offences. Sabah police chief Datuk Hamza Taib testified today that foreigners committed 15 per cent of index crimes against locals ― including violent crimes like murder, rape, robberies and theft ― and another 15 per cent against other foreigners.
Well, it used to be the Indonesians (they still do but now we have also terrorists in the hit list), Bangladeshi (has some of them mysteriously ended up as Malaysian now?), Pakistanis (put some of them in the same line with Afghanis waling about in "pyjamas" – I wonder what they are doing here with very little skills, money and purpose), Nigerians "students" (somehow they had gone low profile after tighten of student visa procedures and crackdown by the authorities or had they?), Iranians (they still ruling the drug cartel in the country right?), Indians (same case with the Bangladeshi but once in a while they pop their head in the drug trafficking landscape) and to some small extent the Chinese and Taiwanese when it comes to scam, crime and social disorders and now Latin Americans have join the band-wagon and in a big way too.
Malaysia (aka Truly Asia) is very attractive to all foreigners who want to sample fine accommodations, travel, food, shopping, business, education and employment in this side of the world and at times we are willing to go that extra mile to compete with other tourists spots in region (namely Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia) for the same group of tourists. Unfortunately it also had attracted a good deal of the filth from Latin America. Perhaps we should start with the very basic question – what it makes Malaysia attractive to these Latin America criminals (taking queue from the KL CID chief statement that "Malaysia is being promoted as a choice destination for Latin Americans but for sinister reasons").
Is it because there is a lack of care and enforcement at the various entries points to a point where even a green slimy Martian can slip in without any blink from the authorities? I don't think so – after all the authorities did a splendid job banning PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar from entering Sabah back in May 2013 (and that Australian MP too) – all in the name of security of course. Or is it because it is simply easier to commit crime in Malaysia and get away with it? The police force is evidentially stretched to its limits and it is unfortunate they cannot be at all places at the same time. And the fact that peace loving Malaysians are not living in fortresses manned by heavily armed guards makes it easier for these criminals to break into houses. Whatever the reason may be, it is clear that Malaysia have ended up as a beacon for these criminals – what we are going to do about it?
To be fair, I am sure the good people from the Immigration and the Police have been doing their job well enough to stop these criminals at track. Otherwise we would have been another Latin America country where criminal gang related shooting (we are coming to this already), drugs & human trafficking, violent robberies and kidnappings would have been a daily affair. Yes, we are hunting these criminals down but it is more of a reactive action than a proactive one. It is clear that we are not doing enough – we still having missing ATM machines and all fingers are pointing back to the Latin Americans.
There are still loopholes in the system we have not patched and thus foreign criminals are still able to slip in. We have yet to ban some people from some countries and only allowing them into the country only if they have a very strong credentials and very good reasons to be in the country (buggers wanting to learn English is NOT one of them!). With biometrics in place, why we are still having problems with forged documents – it is not easy to forge finger prints when it is done in front of the immigration officers. After all these criminals may have forged documents & false identities but the system would be intelligent enough to detect the same idiots if they are trying slip-in with another name and from another entry point. Are we giving these criminals the kid glove treatment just because they are foreigners (a case of misplaced inferiority where we think the foreigners are one notch better than the locals)?
But investigating, arresting and punishing the criminals is just one part of the action to stop the criminals in their tracks. Another starts at the very entrance point to the country. Officials who let these criminals in through corruption or recklessness should be flushed out and punished. A better system should be put in place to detect forged documents – biometrics coupled with the good wealth of databases from the various law enforcement agencies should be utilized to ensure no one enters the country with forged documents and identities and if they try to do so, they should be held up immediately for suspicion of committing crimes in the country. Repeated criminals should be charged with terrorism and any locals who help them with high treason.
As I have mentioned before, we can never tolerate anyone who come to this country and abuse the entry privileges, take our hospitality for granted, use this country as transit point for all kind of illegal activities, rob & cheat Malaysians at the same time and gain millions of ringgit from their illegal activities whilst continuing to show their middle finger to the law of the country. News should travel back to Latin America countries with the strongest message that Malaysia is a tough place for any criminals and it is not easy to get away with any crimes and where for more serious ones, mandatory death by hanging awaits them.
What will take for the Government to come down hard on these foreigners? The fact that Malaysia is being promoted as a place to commit crime and one website already mentioned the country in its top list for dangerous cities should have irked all Malaysians, the authorities and the Government into action. It is not good for the country in the long run. Yes, it is a fact that we cannot fix all problems overnight – we cannot do away with act of crime so soon but we should be chipping away on the actions to be taken to curtail them. At the end of the day, crime will still happen but one where the criminal cannot get away so easily and once caught and punished to an extent that they will fear to commit any crime.
P.s. And on the notion of the Latin America criminals claiming that they do not speak English (reminds me of another case of "me speak no English") and thus making it difficult for the police to further investigate, here's something the police could do – take a piece of rod iron, throw it into the fire and once it is burning hot red, shove it into darkest side of their body and see how they scream in perfect English!
Posted on 19 July 2013 by B.JoePosted in Crime, Government, Justice, Malaysia, News, Police, World AffairsTagged acetylene torches, ATM, Crime, Criminals, Datuk Ku Chin Wah, Foreigners, Immigration Department, Latin Americans, Malaysia, Police. 2 Comments
Criminals Not Fear of the Law?
(Sorry for missing out on a post last week – something cropped up and I have moved to the dark side of Android. More of this coming up soon)
(This may look funny but it is hardly a laughing matter, especially when it is not safe to venture out these days. Psst, the whole ATM machines still get "screwed" to this day. Image source: http://www.flickriver.com)
Well, it was not a big surprise:-
Criminals have no fear of the police and are even daring enough these days to rob during dinners, weddings and funerals. Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, who is Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) vice-chairman, said the criminals believe they won't get caught due to poor law enforcement. "I feel we have lagged in terms of law enforcement that strikes fear in the hearts of the criminals," he said.
A survey by the International Islamic University Malaysia's (IIUM) Communication department has shown that crime is the number one concern among Malaysians. IIUM lecturer Prof Datuk Seri Dr Syed Arabi Idid said the results of the nationwide study, conducted between April 6 and 14, showed that crime had surpassed economic woes as the main worry. One out of every three adult respondents said crime had become a national problem.
M. Danaletchumi pleaded with the robbers and told them her family was poor before she felt the sharp pain on her head and saw blood gushing out from her thumb. A robber had hit the 50-year-old with the handle of a parang and cut her thumb when told there was not much money in the house.
Criminals striking fear in broad daylight is nothing new. Even the VVIPs are not spared (if you recall this)
Some weeks ago, I badly needed a good haircut but I had been putting away the visit to my favourite barber until last week. When I finally had the time, I went over to the place and found the barber's assistant had taken leave and there were about 4 customers waiting for their turn. The barber busy with one of the customer, looked at me when I walked in and asked if I could come back later – there were too many customer at moment and he soon need to take his break. So I went back, took a quick nap and a couple hours later, I came back, hoping that there would be fewer customers by now.
As I parked my car right in front of the barber shop, I noticed a group of young motorcyclists looking at me rather suspiciously. Although I saw them and be more alert than usual, I "ignored" them as I walked into the barber shop – they seemed to be minding their own business and I knew the barber rather well. I waited for my turn and kept looking out at the men outside, hoping they would not do anything "funny" to my car and when it came to my turn, I realized that I am the last customer for the day before the barber closes the shop for the day. Soon, there was no one in the barber shop other than me and the barber and I noticed the motorcyclists that I met earlier were still around in front of the barber shop, occasionally throwing their glances at the barbershop and one was standing quite close to my car.
Soon I realized there were silence (as the barber busied himself with the haircut) and somehow my "spidey senses" went all out high – I started imagining – I imagined a group of men rushing into the barber shop with parang and sticks. It would have been an easy pick for them – me with the key for the my car right outside the shop, phone and wallet with plenty of money and the barber with his collection for the day and mind you, with no other witnesses or CCTV to catch them in the act. Somehow the barber stopping and keep looking out at the group outside did not really help to improve the situation.
Then I heard someone opening the front door and I told myself – "damn, this was it! this was the end" My eyes quickly scanned on the barber's table looking for any kind of weapon that I could use to defend myself – sharp scissors, shaving blades, hair oil, etc. But just then, the barber spoke out and said that he is closing the shop. Oh, another late customer wanting to get a hair-cut. The customer smiled and then walked out without any incident but somehow I knew it was not over until the barber had done his job (and I was safely back in my car). Then I heard the shutter door coming down – the criminals are drawing down the shutter doors so that they can rob without any interruption? Damn, again. But then it was a no, it was just the barber's friend who had brought in some meal and kept the shutter down halfway to prevent any other customers walking in. With his friend keeping us company and the barber finishing the haircut, only then I started to feel a bit ease. The motorcyclists who I saw earlier no where to be seen and no one had touched my car.
This is reality of things these days and it started to be getting worse – nowadays it is even not safe even you have plenty of people around (as in restaurants and funerals). So when the Government comes back and keep saying that the rate of crime has been getting lower, one really need to question on its source and whether the police is placing the right priority in managing it's limited resources. Not when we have this kind of nonsense:-
Student leader Mohd Safwan Anang has also been arrested by police. He was picked up at about 7pm from his house in Sungai Buloh and was taken to the Dang Wangi police station. It is believed that his arrest is in connection with the Black 505 rally at Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya, on Saturday.
Come on lah, which is a more serious concern to Malaysians out there? A bunch of people saying out aloud their opinion on the political issues in the country OR need to face violent criminals who struck without any fear or care on diners on broad daylight? Let's leave the play of gutter politics to the politicians and the police left to focus on the real security issues out there – the enforcement of law and ensuring that the crime rate really goes down, not merely at statistical level but also in common citizen's perception level.
After all, if it had come to a stage when it does not feel safe to have a simple haircut, I am not sure what else can go wrong and be worse. It's time to make criminals to know that whatever they do, they can be caught and fear the consequences of breaking the law through effective policing and enforcement. And we cannot do that without an good increase in the force on ground, relocation of the limited resources from non essential investigations (like the one that involves opposition politicians), perhaps more CCTVs and mobile police beats in place at crime prone areas, substantial increase of punishment for armed crimes (looking at the hudud laws makes a lot of sense now) and lastly perhaps banning the pesky "kapchai" (yes, the very favourite mode of transportation for snatch thieves, menacing mat rempits, armed robbers and cold blood assassins) from the roads.
Posted on 17 June 2013 18 June 2013 by B.JoePosted in Crime, Enforcement, Government, Law, Malaysia, PoliceTagged ATM, Barber, Crime, Crime statistics, Fear, Haircut, Law, Law Enforcement, Malaysia, Police, Robbery. 1 Comment
Missing Kid: T. Sathiskumar
He is still missing since last August 2012…
T. Sathiskumar went missing after following his grandfather E.P. Veloomurugan, 46, to a food court in Jalan Permatang Pauh here. He was travelling with his father, T. Tamil Vanan, 30, in his lorry until they stopped at the food court at 12.30pm. Tamil Vanan, from Ampang Jajar, Butterworth, was heading towards Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah, on his delivery rounds. At the food court, Sathiskumar disappeared in the crowd and could not be found.
State Criminal Investigation Department chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Mazlan Kesah said the boy weighed 15kg and was 70cm tall. He was last seen in a pair of green shorts and a T-shirt with a yellow Spiderman hat. Those with information on Sathiskumar's whereabouts can call Inspector Mohamed Ehsan Abu Bakar at 012-2494002, or the nearest police station
Please keep an eye for him and parents, please keep close eyes on your kids too and don't let them be another number in the missing children statistics.
Posted on 7 September 2012 8 October 2012 by B.JoePosted in Announcements, Children, Crime, NewsTagged Announcements, Children, Crime, Kids, Missing, Sathiskumar. Leave a comment
Let's Just Ban These Nigerians!
Update 1: More Nigerian drug masterminds being caught in the county. From theStar:-
The 28-year-old Nigerian leader of an international drug distribution ring was masquerading as a college student. He made easy money by luring lovestruck women into smuggling drugs. The man became a major player in the regional drug smuggling trade, but despite keeping a low-profile, his activities were noticed. He was nabbed after a six-month surveillance by police.
Are we still leaving the back door open for more foreign criminals to slip-in through in disguise of students?
Back to the original post
The Blitzkrieg On Fake African Students
Spotlight On African Menace
Con Jobs
African Menace in Puchong
(The police's press conference on the arrest the Nigerian drug baron, who soon will be facing the gallows. One has been caught, what about the rest? What about other crimes like internet scams and fraud?)
When will the authorities wake up and put their "foot down" (I mean with serious short & long term action and not just the usual talk cock) on this long nagging problem? Will the Home Minister able to do some serious "out-of-the-box" thinking to get rid of these persistent parasites from Africa for once and for all?
From theStar:-
A Nigerian living like a king in his little palace hideout in Lukut, Port Dickson, was nabbed by the police on suspicion of running a multi-million ringgit international drug syndicate. After six months of surveillance, police moved in on the 32-year-old Nigerian, who has been living a life of luxury in his bungalow house on Saturday and nabbed him and his 31-year-old live-in girlfriend whom he referred to as his wife.
Police investigations also revealed that the suspect, who had been operating in the country for less than a year, owns a hotel in his home country believed to be paid for with money gained from his illegal activities here.
Assets belonging to the man, his girlfriend and his right-hand man in Malaysia worth millions of ringgit have been frozen. The three have been remanded for seven days.
Noor Rashid revealed that in unrelated cases last week, six people from Zambia, Iran and Nigeria, including women aged between 25 and 38, were arrested in KLIA, Puchong and Damansara for drug smuggling. Drugs seized in these cases have a street value of RM7mil.
Kudos to the police in nabbing the criminal (are there others?) and in due time, this criminal and others like him will soon face the gallows (unless the prosecution screws up big time). And whilst the police and to some extent the Immigration Department have been going after the criminals from African (namely from Nigeria) who had overstayed and abused student visa, the more important check should come even before these criminals enter the country. And why we still have Nigerian criminals in this country despite all the hoo-haa in the past on the abuse of student visas by the politicians? Is it because we have been good is nabbing them; we have screwed up in punishing them and in making sure they never return after we had deported them? Are these criminals taking the advantage of the possible corruption or loopholes in the system?
Doesn't the very fact that they are driving around in luxury cars (and act like morons on the road) and staying at high-end residential areas without a clear indication of their source of income draws one's doubts? And considering we have yet to nail the South American criminals who did the ATM job in recent weeks (perhaps they have gone back to their own country to let things cool down and be back later), we need to re-look into the operational & review process & procedures in allowing foreigners (especially from dubious countries from Africa & South America and others "watch-list" countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Iran, Pakistan, India and Indonesia) into this country. What is happening to our border patrols? After all, if it is that easy for drug dealers to move in and out of this country, think of the consequences if we have terrorists doing the same.
Are we asking the right questions before we grant these foreigners access to our country? Are our people at these entry points alert enough to single out any suspicious characters for further investigations? Were the verification of documents and other information done extensively before access is granted? Have we checked their source of income? If a clown is coming to this country for Basic English classes, obviously questions need to be raised – why a class on Basic English, why this country (where English is not even the language of Science and Mathematics) and how this clown is going to pay for the classes? From some scholarship, money from parents or from drug money? Is the college registered and recognized by the Government to take in foreign students? Where this clown is going to stay for the duration of his "course"? Is there a guarantee somewhere for his good behaviour? For short term visits, does he has a valid return ticket?
What about his past record from his home country? And since we already deployed biometric registration for foreign workers, have we enforced the same on those who abuse their visas? And go step further with tying up with fingerprint database from the law enforcement agencies (it should not be that difficult considering the infrastructure that we have now) so that those with criminal records can be easily identified at the borders (even if they had changed their name and passport) and entry is strictly denied (or subject to even further questioning & checking).
And before anyone accuses Malaysia on doing selective prosecution or practice selective racism, let me say this upfront aloud – screw you. We have other foreigners as well and a number of them have been living and studying in this country for years without any problems but not the Nigerians and to some extent Iranians. Almost on a monthly basis, you see them in the news caught for illegal activities – if it is not on internet scams, then it is on drugs and other crimes:-
February 2012 – Customs officers have detained a 27-year-old Nigerian man for attempting to smuggle 75 pellets of drugs in a condom which he had swallowed. KLIA Customs deputy director Siti Baya Berahan said the man, suspected to be a drug mule, was held at the airport here at about 11pm Thursday after he had flown in from Lagos.
February 2012 – The High Court sentenced to death a Nigerian man after he was found guilty of drug trafficking two years ago. Judicial Commissioner Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab said the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against 34-year-old Oluigbo Eric Chimeze.
April 2012 – Meanwhile, a 27-year-old Nigerian registered as a student of a private college in Kuala Lumpur since June last year, was found with 0.85kg of methamphetamine concealed in a special compartment in his laptop bag, New Straits Times reported on Sunday. Malaysian custom chief Siti Baya said the man was detained by Customs when his laptop bag showed a suspicious image when it was scanned on his arrival from Lagos.
May 2012 – A Nigerian man was sentenced to death at the High Court here Monday for trafficking cannabis two years ago. James Kamara, a student at a private higher learning institution in Kuala Lumpur, was found guilty of trafficking 18,810gm of cannabis at about 9.05pm, at the Shahab Perdana bus terminal here, on Sept 13, 2010.
May 2012 – Following the arrest, police raided two houses in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Damansara on Monday and Tuesday where they nabbed 15 Nigerian men. "The syndicate has been active for more than two years and we believe more victims have been conned by its members," he said yesterday. ACP Izany also said initial investigation revealed all the Nigerian suspects hold student visas and study at local colleges.
June 2012 – A Nigerian student was jailed for 15 months and ordered to be caned four times by a magistrate's court for misappropriating RM4,850 from an Iranian student in an online banking scam.
July 2012 – A Nigerian drug mule was arrested with about 400gm of syabu in capsules that she swallowed. The 32-year-old woman, who arrived from Doha, was nabbed at around 7.30pm at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal on June 16.
July 2012 – Five Africans have been arrested for trafficking about RM1mil worth of Syabu. Federal Narcotic Crimes Investigations Department (NCID) director Comm Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said police arrested four Nigerians and a Ghanaian man in Kepong at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
July 2012 – Four Nigerian students were charged in the Magistrate's Court on Friday with trafficking 977 grammes of syabu. The men were charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which can be sentenced under Seksyen 39B(2) of the same Act and read with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
August 2012 – The High Court here on Sunday sentenced a Nigerian man to death after finding him guilty of trafficking drugs, last year.
August 2012 – A Nigerian cleaner was sentenced to 15 years in jail by the High Court after pleading guilty to an alternative charge of possessing 2.9kg of methamphetamines.
We can tolerate the nonsense from our politicians (which is getting insanely stupid by the minutes these days but it does not matter, we are Malaysians) but we can never tolerate the criminals who come to this country and abuse the entry privileges, take our hospitality for granted, use this country as transit point for all kind of illegal activities, rob & cheat Malaysians at the same time and gain millions of ringgit from their illegal activities whilst continuing to show their middle finger to the law of the country.
(A video of a drug trafficker being caned at Sungai Buloh prison in Malaysia. Despite the severe punishment including the mandatory death by hanging is clearly defined and made known to all visitors to this country, we are still having foreigners bringing in drugs to the country on regular basis. Something is not right here )
If you ask me, probably these criminals should be severely punished and any Malaysians who knowingly help these criminals should be charged with treason and should be charged with the same crime too. No second chance, no sweet talk, no mere threats and certainly no fear of losing influx of foreigners to this country.Yes, it may sound way too extreme but consider this – despite the fact that ultimate punishment for trafficking drugs in this country is the death penalty, the number of people caught with drugs (either as drug mules or drug dealers) does not seem to be reducing. These people are not dumb, they are simply greedy and ruthless.
At end of the day, we may lose some income here and there (some small colleges may have to close down for good but who cares, you never know, it may be run by Nigerians too) but overall this will send a clear message to those foreigners who intend to commit crime in this country. A strong message that says that Malaysians does not tolerate criminals and certainly do not want the good name of this country as being the transit country for criminal activities.
We are more than happy to welcome foreigners to this country for needs of education, business and pleasure but we must certainly be prepared to kick out any foreign criminals from our doorsteps.
Ghanaian govt chasing us out, lament Nigerian Bizmen (vanguardngr.com)
Nigerian Man Arrested with Cocaine-filled Roasted Chickens [Crime] (gawker.com)
Fraud: UK to go tough on Nigerians coming for child delivery (vanguardngr.com)
Posted on 7 September 2012 12 July 2013 by B.JoePosted in Crime, Enforcement, Government, Law, Malaysia, Police, VideosTagged Africa, Crime, Criminals, Drugs, Enforcement, Foreigners, Government, Immigration Department, Law, Nigeria, Port Dickson, Puchong, Scam, Visa (document). 29 Comments
The Crime Statistics Folly
(How safe you are feeling when you are out these days? Sorry, let me rephrase that – how safe you are feeling when you are out these days considering that the statistics shows a lower crime rate? Image source: http://www.pemandu.gov.my)
Do you believe that the crime rates have dropped drastically over the last few months?
No doubt that the police are doing their very best in combating crime (with breakthroughs like this, this, this and this) but it is also clear (if you have read the news in the last few days) that it does not matter if you are an-ex Chief Minister or a Police Chief or just happen to be within the vicinity of the state police headquarters, you can still get screwed by the criminals:-
The house of former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik was broken into by burglars who took away cash and a pistol. All the occupants of the house were out for a wedding in Malacca during last night's break-in.
At about 9pm, one of Abdul Rahim's family members came home but he did not notice anything amiss. However, sources said that after taking a shower, he realised that the master bedroom had been ransacked. When the family returned home and checked their belongings, they discovered that several items and valuables were missing.
"Three rooms were ransacked. The burglars took cash, jewellery, valuables and a pistol," said a family member.
And this:-
The multi-purpose vehicle belonging to the Sentul district police chief was found 12 hours after it was stolen at his home in Taman Chandan Puteri here.
Kuala Kangsar district police chief Superintendent Abdul Gaffaar Muhammad said police found Assistant Commissioner Zakaria Pagan's Toyota Estima at 3pm yesterday in Pasir Puteh, Ipoh. "Zakaria realised his car was missing when he wanted to go and buy breakfast at 8am."
A money changer was robbed following a daring heist by a group of armed robbers just opposite the state police headquarters here.
According to a nearby saloon employee, who wanted to be known only as Joyce, 35, the robbers had used two vehicles to carry out the robbery at around 10.15am along Jalan Harimau Tarom on Tuesday.
And in recent spate of robbery and attempted abduction in shopping centres against lone women and multi million ATM robberies (damn, we used to deal with Indonesian and Nigerian criminals but now South American and Middle East criminals are getting in the act too), the question now raised is whether we have been looking at the wrong side of the statistics.
Tony Pua of DAP writes:-
We call upon the Government to stop the spin on the crime situation in the country. There is absolutely no question that the people do not feel safe in the streets regardless of the many "feel good" selective statistics the Government has released to the public.
Datuk Idris Jala claimed that "we as in the police (PDRM), Home Ministry (KDN) and Pemandu have been very transparent in acknowledging that there are 157,891 index crime cases reported in 2011".
However, if the Government is so confident of its crime fighting achievements, why is it refusing to provide detailed statistics by districts (e.g., Petaling Jaya, Klang, Serdang etc.) or by type of crime (e.g., murder, kidnapping, snatch theft, robbery, armed robbery etc.)?
And the same echoed by PKR's Dr Wan Azizah:-
In 2010, Malaysia's Special Branch, according to PKR, spent three times more resources spying on its citizens than it has fighting crime. PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail revealed figures from the 2012 Budget, showing that the police produced 733,237 spy reports and security checks in 2010. In comparison, the number of investigation papers under criminal investigation opened that year was 211,645.
"All in all, the police's Special Branch produced 733,000 reports on its citizens, spying on roughly 4.3% of the adult population of Malaysia," said Wan Azizah.
She expressed irony at this, hinting at the rising spate of crime in the country, especially where violence against women was concerned. She said that instead of focusing on crime, the government chose to focus on statistics.
For 2012, the Government has posed the following crime reducing rate and given the recent measures undertaken by the Government in combating crime (like the very assuring Ops Payung especially at commercial areas and more street patrol) and the past results from 2011, I am confident that we can achieve a good part of the said targets (if they are not busy with non-criminal policing work on the oppositions or not being too busy with road blocks & fortification of the Dataran Square for another Bersih-like rally):-
1. Reduce 5% of Crime Index against the year 2011.
2. Reduce 45% of Street Crime Index against the year 2009.
3. Reduce 45% of people who fear of becoming victim of crime.
4. Increase 25% of PDRM charging rate.
5. Increase 65% of public satisfaction on police services.
But then again, statistics are at the best is just an indicator and not necessarily reflect the actual crime rate as the computation of the reduction in crime rate is also dependant on other factors like the increase of the population overall and by types and severity of the criminal act. The reliance of statistics alone gets worse if the statistics are manipulated to show better rates as this finding on NYP's crime statistics shows:-
An anonymous survey of nearly 2,000 retired officers found that the manipulation of crime reports — downgrading crimes to lesser offenses and discouraging victims from filing complaints to make crime statistics look better — has long been part of the culture of the New York Police Department.
The results showed that pressure on officers to artificially reduce crime rates, while simultaneously increasing summonses and the number of people stopped and often frisked on the street, has intensified in the last decade, the two criminologists who conducted the research said in interviews this week. Mr. Browne said the summary's conclusions drew on respondents' perceptions, which were not supported by the facts.
According to the summary, for example, a majority of respondents indicated that they lacked confidence in the accuracy of the Police Department's crime statistics, which reflect an 80 percent drop in major crimes since 1990. Many of the retired officers who participated in the survey said they believed crime had declined since 1990, but "not to the extent claimed by N.Y.P.D. management," the summary said.
As I said, statistics are at the best is just an indicator. There is no point praising the statistics if petty theft crime rate had decreased but armed robbery crime have increased at the same time (Tony Pua's contention that the current statistics does not detailed statistics by districts or by type of crime) and if the necessary follow-up action have been done. The Government no doubt must continue to evaluate the measures already taken to bring down the crime rate (even though the statistics may show good figures) – what works must be continued with more vigour, commitment and frequency and what does not work should be shelved and replaced something more effective.
We have commenced the biometric registration for the foreign workers but how effective it is considering that we continue to have criminals in disguise of students from Nigeria ("students" from Iran is another time-bomb waiting to blow – just wait and see) to continue to come over to this country to create trouble and commit crime (although the authorities have closed the gap) and now having South American & Middle Eastern criminals doing high profiled crimes in the country – how long it is going to be before things gets worse and foreign criminals start running the show in this country?
And have we started to look into the legal loopholes and stiffer punishment for the repeated hard-core criminals? How many of them have come out and committed the same crime, perhaps with fatal consequences?
Someone who I know was robbed just a couple days and when talking to the policemen who were very helpful, understanding and determined to solve the case, we heard the sheer frustration from the men in blue. They lament on how they put in the hours (on top of other cases to be solved with pressure from the top, the politicians and the public) and pull in the resources to catch the criminals only to see these criminals back on the streets (committing more crimes) due to loopholes in the law and legal procedures. And when some people die in the act of pursuit and arrest, the police are often blamed as being too aggressive and trigger happy whilst the common criminals elevated to a hero status (read Durai's excellent "Funeral of a Macha" post for a take on this).
And since we are very concerned on the trend and ease of foreigners (who according to the police are professionals) committing crimes in this country, we should re-look into how the current law addresses crimes committed by these foreign criminals. Just like how foreigners have to pay more for health services and petrol in this country, I think they should "pay" more for their crimes as well. The prison terms or the number of whipping that is provided under the normal law should, automatically and mandatory, be doubled (or tripled) if the criminal charged is a foreigner (of course in due time, high penalty should apply for all criminals – local or foreign).
At the end of the day, we just want to be safe, not only for the citizen of this country but also for foreigners who are here on legitimate reasons but at the same time, the law of this country and the enforcement of it should be so severe and swift that the last thing anyone want to do in the country is to commit crime.
Read these too:-
Hishamuddin Sleeping On The Job
Defenders of traffic criminals vs our fight against crime
Drug Traffickers And Criminals. Is Malaysia A Magnet ?
Posted on 6 July 2012 6 July 2012 by B.JoePosted in Crime, Government, Justice, Law, Malaysia, PoliceTagged Crime, Crime statistics, Enforcement, Government, Law, Loopholes, Police, Robbery, Tony Pua, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. 2 Comments


The Glory - Lauren London Exclusive!
Lauren London Flirts w/ Trey Songz & Calls Rihanna a Grown A** Woman! | Baggage Claim Premiere!
Legendary Actress Lauren London talks her life in and out of the spotlight, family and whats not in her career!
Watch as Lauren London talks about being a mother, and why she always attends the Essence Luncheon.
Nipsey Hussle stopped by Boom 103.9 to talk his debut project Victory Lap, his thoughts on Black Panther, West Coast Hip-Hop, and what he said in that DM to pull Lauren London!
Montana Moore\'s (Paula Patton) mother (Jenifer Lewis) and sister (Lauren London) drop by to announce an engagement in the family. See BAGGAGE CLAIM on September 27!


About 20 minutes east of St. Germain is another Northwoods town known for snowmobiling: Eagle River attracts snowmobile enthusiasts from all over the country for fun and excitement on the snow-covered landscape—not to mention a little competition. The World Championship Derby Track in Eagle River has hosted the World Championship Snowmobile Derby every year since 1966. This world-famous event has proven to be a vital contribution to both the tourism and economic health of the snowmobile community and the Northwoods area. The track was recently sold to three longtime snowmobile enthusiasts and industry insiders, Tom Anderson, Russ Davis and Craig Marchbank. As passionate fans of the sport, the new team plans to restore the over 30-acre property to its former glory and host year-round events in addition to the World Championship Derby. With the promise of a revitalized venue, the city hopes this year's 56th championship event will be one to remember.


History is always subject of debates for various reasons. The one which cropped up recently around Bhagat Singh had a new dimension to 'looking at the past'. This relates to changed perception of a word in the context of current global terrorism. In one of the talk shows, which is the noisiest of them all, the anchor attacked legendary historian Bipan Chandra and the book 'India's struggle for Independence' for calling Bhagat Singh and his comrades as terrorists. The anchor of the show accused the writers of this book, as intentionally maligning patriots, calling them court historians of Congress. Taking off from this BJP MP Anurag Thakur said that martyrs are being denigrated in the book and MHRD Minister Smriti Irani came with the verdict that this is the academic murder of sacrifice of great freedom fighters.
It is another matter that over a period of time this group of revolutionaries changed their ideology as reflected in Ramprasad Bismil's advice to give up "the desire to keep revolvers and pistols" and instead to joins "the open movement". Bhagat Singh's own views evolved over time, and he had, by 1929, come to the conclusion that Marxism and broad-based mass movements were the right road to revolution, not individual heroic action. In 1931, addressing his comrades from jail, he presented his nuanced understanding of terrorism as a strategy for action. Contrary to those who are criticizing the book for using the word terrorists for Bhagat Singh and comrades, the term as such was used by the revolutionaries themselves. It was the time when this was not looked down as it is today (from 2001 onwards) due to multiple global dynamics related mainly to control over oil resources.
This book 'India's Struggle for Independence' was first published in 1988. Lately from over a decade Historian Bipan Chnadra; when writing about Bhagat Singh on various occasions; did not use this term terrorist for him. In his introduction to Bhagat Singh's pamphlet, 'Why I am an Atheist', Chandra refers to him as follows, "Bhagat Singh was not only one of India's greatest freedom fighters and revolutionary socialist, but also one of its early Marxist thinkers and ideologues." Chandra's co-authors point out that Chandra held Bhagat Singh in very high esteem and highlighted his popularity in the chapters which he wrote. As per Chandra Bhagat Singh was immensely popular all over the country and people did not take food after hearing about his hanging.
It seems the Smiriti Irani and company is trying to take advantage of use of the word terrorist in the book to do away with book itself, as this book has made scathing criticism of communal politics in India. The reading of book makes it clear that Muslim and Hindu communalists both were not part of freedom movement and did not participate in 'anti-British' nationalist movement. This is a fact which communalists want to hide and display their patriotism by beating their breasts on such issues like use of word terrorist for Bhagat Singh.
There are others from the RSS parivar who think this book has revolved around Nehru and the left alone. Their reading is partisan and motivated. If one reads the book it will become clear that the focus of the book is on the aspects of the anti colonial movement and it refers to all the strands of anti British movement which took place. Gandhi and Nehru both have an unenviable place in the movement; still the deeper dynamics of movement is always at the fore in the book. It gives full justice to Bhagat Singh, Surya Sen and their participation in anti British movement; it has Bose, Patel, Maulana Azad, Jinnah and Ambedkar all in the proper context. The deeper mechanism of mass mobilization, major steps of the movement; its challenges and its evolution over a period of time are outlined in a very objective manner.
Since the word terrorism has assumed a totally different meaning currently, since Prof Bipan Chandra is no more, the surviving authors in consultation with other historians can definitely coin a word like 'militant revolutionaries' or some such for these great freedom fighters. BJP has played with history to suit its political agenda. In this issue it is looking at one more opportunity to do away with a valuable text book on Independence movement to hide the fact that Hindutva ideology has no role in freedom movement.


Chilliwack FC supports Sardis Senior's new Physical Education Athletics class geared towards soccer training.
The developmental program will include a variety of activities but with greater emphasis on developing students' personal athletic attributes in the area of soccer. To achieve this, activities will be organized around whole-class, small group, and independent programs.
These activities will help students develop positive attitudes towards a healthy, active lifestyle and promote personal growth and social responsibility both in the classroom and within the community. Students will gain knowledge to help them in future settings and to maintain a healthy lifestyle beyond the scope of the classroom. Sardis Secondary's P.E. Department stresses the importance and belief that all students will be included and expected to participate to the best of their ability.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding this soccer specific Physical Education course.


text:
Patients to book GP appointments and access records through NHS app
By Neil Roberts on the 11 September 2017
Patients should be able to access GP services from a new integrated app from next year, Jeremy Hunt has announced.
NHS app: patients to have access to appointments and records (Photo: iStock)
Speaking at the NHS Innovation Expo in Manchester the health secretary said every patient in England would be able to book appointments, order repeat prescriptions, see their medical records, contact 111 and access long-term conditions support from an app by the end of next year.
But GP leaders warned the plan to improve patient access would not solve the problem that there are not enough appointments available to meet demand from patients.
Pilots are already underway. Under a trial in south London patients can already access NHS 111, book appointments, order repeat prescriptions and receive online consultations with their GP through their phones.
Mr Hunt said: 'If the NHS is going to be the safest, highest quality healthcare system in the world we need to do technology better. So today I am setting seven challenges which, if we achieve them, will make the NHS a world-beater in the care of people with long-term conditions.
'People should be able to access their own medical records 24/7, show their full medical history to anyone they choose and book basic services like GP appointments or repeat prescriptions online.
'I do not underestimate the challenge of getting there - but if we do it will be the best possible 70th birthday present from the NHS to its patients.'
GPC chair Dr Richard Vautrey said: 'GPs have been the leaders in developing and using electronic records and innovative digital technologies and are always looking for new ways to enhance and support patient care. It's also important that these systems are well supported and that patients are given the right information on how best to use them safely.
'However, new technologies that are created with the intention of improving access won't solve the fundamental problem that there are simply not enough GP and nurse appointments available for patients, as there are not enough GPs and nurses available to offer them or meet the growing needs of our patients.
'With the NHS at breaking point, we need the government to take the evidence of a workforce crisis seriously and act to implement a long-term, well-funded plan that results in more GPs being available to treat the public.'
The DH will on Tuesday launch a consultation on which new areas the CQC's ratings system should cover for digital GP services.
Flawed data on GP consultations could put unfair pressure on practices, warns GPC
GPs call for investigation into 'misleading' private appointments ads
GP regulation should be merged into 'one process', GPC says
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BMA leaders have warned that raising the income threshold at which tax on pensions...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


In recent years rapid advancements have been made in the smartphone camera landscape, with functions such as zoom, image stabilization, and autofocus becoming standard. Since 2008 ROHM has been developing lens driver ICs for camera modules, which are designed to be key devices for these additional functions and have been widely adopted both in Japan and abroad. Among these, in response to market demand for blur-free image capture of distant objects or under low-light conditions, we will focus on image optical image stabilization, which is expected to see increased adoption in the future.
Since it began offering autofocus lens driver ICs in 2008, ROHM has developed models that support actuators capable of bidirectional drive along with a ringing compensation function that suppresses transient oscillation for feed forward control which at the time was considered mainstream for autofocus lens drivers. In addition, ROHM is further expanding its lineup by developing lens drivers for feedback control type autofocus, models compatible with different ball-type actuators, and lens driver ICs for optical image stabilization that were first adopted in smartphones in 2012.
Unlike the contrast method that searches for the maximum point of contrast while moving the lens, phase detection involves dividing incoming light into pairs of images and comparing them using a dedicated sensor. This method detects the deviation in the direction of focus position from the distance between the 2 images, eliminating the need to search for the exact focus position as in the contrast method, making high-speed AF operation possible.
Electronic image stabilization basically detects image misalignment between frames and performs compensation accordingly. In contrast, with optical image stabilization camera shake/jitter signal is detected by a gyro sensor integrated in the smartphone or camera. Although both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, in recent years optical image stabilization has proven to be more effective in low light conditions and capturing subjects at longer distances, and as a result is expected to see increased adoption in the future. In addition, a number of cameras are starting to adopt hybrid systems utilizing both electronic and optical methods to improve image stabilization performance.
Various methods to achieve optical image stabilization exist. In digital cameras the 'lens shift method', where only the compensation lens within the lens array shifts, and the 'sensor shift method' that involves shifting the image sensor element while the lens is fixed, are primarily used. Most cameras used in smartphones adopt the 'barrel shift method', in which the entire lens array is shifted. A number of actuators required for optical axis adjustment have been developed for these different systems. ROHM is also developing control technology for these actuators that is expected to improve camera module performance in the future.
In addition to lens drivers for camera modules, ROHM will continue to leverage the latest proprietary technologies and expertise to expand its industry-leading lineup and develop products that meet customer needs.


Clearside Biomedical announced positive topline results from its phase 2 clinical trial evaluating suprachoroidal CLS-TA used with intravitreally administered Eylea (aflibercept) in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) over a 6-month evaluation period, according to a company news release.
TYBEE, a multicenter, randomized, masked, controlled phase 2 trial, enrolled 71 patients who were naïve to treatment for DME. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either quarterly treatments of suprachoroidal CLS-TA together with intravitreal Eylea (months 0 and 3) (the combination arm) or four monthly treatments of intravitreal Eylea plus a sham suprachoroidal procedure (months 0, 1, 2 and 3) (the control arm), with patients in either arm receiving intravitreal Eylea treatment at months 4 and 5 as needed.
The trial met its primary endpoint of mean improvement in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) from baseline over 6 months as measured using the ETDRS scale. Patients in the combination arm gained an average of 12.3 ETDRS letters compared to 13.5 ETDRS letters in the Elyea alone control arm (P = 0.664).
Additionally, administration of suprachoroidal CLS-TA together with intravitreal Eylea met a key secondary endpoint with a mean reduction from baseline of 208 microns in central subfield thickness (CST) of the retina at 6 months, compared to a 177 micron mean reduction in the control arm (P = 0.156). Further, 93% of patients in the combination arm had a greater than 50% reduction in excess CST at six months, compared to 73% of patients in the control arm.
Suprachoroidal CLS-TA used together with intravitreal Eylea was generally well tolerated, with no treatment-related serious adverse events reported in the TYBEE trial through the 24 week evaluation period. Elevated intraocular pressure adverse events were reported for 8.3% of patients in the combination arm, compared to 2.9% of patients in the control arm. Both the combination and control arms reported cataract adverse events, with approximately 5.6% of patients in the combination arm and 2.9% of patients in the control arm developing cataracts.
Clearside is continuing to analyze data from the TYBEE trial and detailed results will be shared at an upcoming medical meeting.


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Investigators from the Peel Regional Police Special Victims Unit have charged a Brampton high school teacher in relation to a sexual exploitation investigation.
Investigators were made aware of a current relationship between a teacher and a 17 year-old student both from Turner Fenton Secondary School located at 7035 Kennedy Road South in the City of Brampton.
On June 15, 2017, Richard KNILL, a 53-year-old male from Milton Ontario was arrested and charged with Sexual Exploitation.
Peel Police is asking anyone with information in relation to this incident is asked to contact investigators at the Special Victims Unit at 905-453-2121, ext. 3460. Anonymous information may also be submitted by calling Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), by visiting www.peelcrimestoppers.ca or by sending a text message to CRIMES (274637) with the word "PEEL" and then your tip.
Comments for High School Teacher Arrested for Sexual Exploitation are now closed.


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Creating Representative and Inclusive Graduate Programs
Recruiting Secondary/High School Students
Recruiting Undergraduate Students
Respecialization and Professional Retraining
Designing robust and attractive graduate programs
Embed themes of multiculturalism, inclusion, equity, and social justice in all course content. School psychology programs should offer a course devoted to multiculturalism and social justice, and topics related to multiculturalism, inclusion, equity, and social justice should be infused throughout the curriculum as well (Newell et al., 2010; Malone & Ishmail, 2020).
Ensure that research related to multiculturalism, inclusion, equity, and social justice is represented in faculty scholarship. At least one faculty member should be actively conducting research related to multiculturalism, equity, and social justice. This research should be included on a faculty webpage. Encourage graduate student involvement in this research (Malone & Ishmail, 2020; Smith et al., 2016). Malone and Ishmail (2020) found that the percentage of racially and ethnically minoritized students in school psychology programs was positively correlated with the percentage of racially and ethnically minoritized faculty and the number of required multicultural courses.
Address social justice issues throughout coursework and program requirements. Social justice issues may be addressed through coursework, service learning experiences, and community projects (Briggs et al., 2009; Proctor et al., 2020).
Create inclusive communities and program cultures. School psychology programs must foster a learning environment that clearly creates an inclusive program climate. These values must be pervasive and authentic and must move beyond surface-level efforts (e.g., mission statements that are not backed by robust plans for implementation). Grapin, Lee, and Jaafar (2015) present a multilevel framework for supporting culturally and linguistically minoritized students in graduate programs. Recruitment materials (e.g., brochures and website content) should emphasize and reflect the program's commitment to inclusion and equity. For example, program faculty may include a link to NASP's Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity Policy as well as the School Psychology Unified Anti-Racism Statement and Call to Action on their program websites, or note that the program supports the policy.
NASP also maintains a directory of Multicultural and Bilingual School Psychology Graduate Programs that demonstrate a commitment to inclusion and equity,
Incorporate field experiences that center on working with culturally and linguistically minoritized individuals. These opportunities should be available in both practica and internship (Rogers, 2006). Make this focus apparent on the program's website, which often serves as an important recruitment tool (Smith et al., 2016).
Ensure that program faculty represent a range of culturally and linguistically minoritized backgrounds. Racially and ethnically minoritized students are represented in larger numbers in programs in which at least one racially and ethnically minoritized faculty member (Malone & Ishmail, 2020).
Recruiting racially and ethnically minoritized students
Emphasize that school psychology is a profession that values inclusion and equity. A commitment to inclusion should be evident in the program's coursework, research, faculty and student bodies. Programs should make an active effort to recruit racially and ethnically minoritized students (e.g., Grapin, Bocanegra, Green, Lee, & Jaafar, 2016). See NASP's position statement on the Recruitment of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse School Psychologists in Graduate Education Programs.
Foster relationships with institutions that traditionally serve racially and ethnically minoritized students (e.g., Historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions). Outreach efforts should be provided at those institutions and graduate students from those institutions should be included in the recruitment efforts (Chandler, 2011; Graves & Wright, 2007; Rogers & Molina, 2006).
Make direct and personal contact with culturally and linguistically minoritized applicants. Direct, personal contact should be made with applicants in order to assure them of program fit. Such direct contact is particularly important for racially and ethnically minoritized students who may have concerns about fitting into the program. Ideally, this personal contact should be made by a racially and ethincally minoritized faculty member or graduate student or involved in research on inclusion, equity, and social justice (Chandler, 2011).
Offer funding opportunities through the institution and through external grants. For some racially and ethnically minoritized graduate students, funding opportunities may be critical for ensuring program completion. Hence, the potential for graduate funding is likely to increase the effectiveness of efforts to recruit more racially and ethnically minoritized students (Chandler, 2011).
Implement admissions procedures that yield a highly qualified and inclusive student body.These procedures may emphasize applicant interviews, review of personal statements, and letters of recommendation while de-emphasizing components such as Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (Chandler, 2011).
Invite prospective students for on-campus visits. This may allow them to establish more personal connections with faculty and students. Interpersonal interaction with a school psychologist has been found to be a significant predictor of entering the profession (Bocanegra, Newell, & Gubi, 2016).
Acknowledge that all program faculty have a role in recruiting an inclusive student body. University faculty are often very busy with numerous competing obligations. Thus, program leaders should acknowledge recruitment of culturally and linguistically minoritized as a priority and afford adequate time and resources to contribute to recruitment efforts (Vasquez et al., 2016).
Reach out to racially and ethnically minoritized undergraduates within the institution. Due to school psychology being underrepresented in undergraduate education and students being generally unaware of the profession, presentations to student organizations and undergraduate courses are recommended (Bocanegra, Gubi, Fan, & Hansmann, 2016).
Specify objective and measurable goals for increasing enrollment of racially and ethincally minoritized students. These goals should be suited to the program's individual characteristics. Specific and purposeful plans should be made to achieve these goals. Progress made towards these goals, along with data-informed modifications to recruitment plans, should be reviewed annually (Proctor & Romano, 2016).
Assist students in identifying programs with research interests related to multiculturalism, equity, and social justice. Recent notable efforts from APA Division 16 have been made to create a database of faculty with these research interests. Prospective students should be encouraged to access the National Directory of Graduate Faculty Addressing Cultural and Diversity Issues in School Psychology at http://www.d16cema.org/.


After interviewing so many Rick Steves guides, it's only right that we now include the recently retired "father of our France tours" — Steve Smith. Steve began guiding tours with Rick in 1985, and soon became co-author of our France guidebooks, designer of our France tour itineraries, the first operations manager of our tour program, and finally the direct manager/mentor of more than 100 Rick Steves tour guides.
For many years you've been "Mr. France" at Rick Steves' Europe. How did it all begin?
I was eight years old when my parents "force-moved" me to France for 18 months. While my father taught English to grad students at the local university, my parents had the "gaul" to make my sister and me attend a French-only school (after a six-week Berlitz immersion course). As it turns out, the experiences from that year, at such a tender age, would help define my career.
We loved traveling all around France during that time, and we returned to visit on several more occasions as we were growing up. Then later, in my early 30s, I moved to France with my wife to find a house and oversee its renovation for my parents' retirement. Thirty years later, that same house has been passed on to us, and we are planning our own retirement in France.
You mean you haven't gotten tired of France after a lifetime of travel there?
Not a bit. What I'll always appreciate about traveling and residing in France is the slower pace of life, the focus on family and friends — and the outrageous variety from region to region. A short drive away from any point in France not only brings new scenery but entirely different cuisine and architecture. Our house is in Burgundy. A little over two hours to the north is the Alsace, which feels more German than French with beer, Riesling wines, sauerkraut, and colorful half-timbered homes. Two hours south is Provence, the arid land of lavender, herbs, olives, and rock-top hill towns. And two hours east lie the Alps and Europe's highest peaks with glaciers, flowery chalets, fondue, and raclette. Big changes in short distances are typical when traveling anywhere in France. I love that.
You pioneered Rick Steves' France tour program nearly 30 years ago. What was it like, leading those first tours?
It was a blast, and not for the faint of heart! In those early days we were complete travel industry outsiders, more enthusiastic than experienced, always improvising, and working without a net every day. Cell phones and the internet certainly weren't part of our tool kit. We had to call ahead to hotels, restaurants, and museums, using pay phones at rest stops along the way. Guides did not carry credit cards. Just like tour members, we got cash to replenish our well-used moneybelts by cashing travelers' checks at banks (a process that usually took at least 30 minutes). We had no local guides, so a lead guide did 100 percent of the teaching during the length of a tour, from the Louvre to the D-Day beaches to walking tours of Arles and Nice. But most importantly, we did not have the office support that we rely on today (one reason I was hired as a manager 25 years ago). As a guide, when anything unexpected happened during your tour, you had to fix it yourself.
That all sounds like an ordeal.
Oh baby, it was great fun! Every tour felt unique, and not being completely sure how each day would end was exhilarating. Fortunately, our tour members were ready for an extended adventure (which they got). Originally, our only France tour was 22 days long, covering the country top to bottom and east to west in a big Paris-to-Paris loop. Today that seems like an eternity.
Can you give us an example of a memorable early tour?
One tour stands out as wildly memorable. It was the second tour of my guiding career, following Rick's three-week "Best of Europe" tour route. I was 28 and recently engaged to be married. My group consisted of one married couple…and 20 fun-loving women under 25. Yikes. I felt like a den mother barely their senior. It was a wild ride from the start. We kept losing women along the route, only to have them turn up again — somehow. One young woman had to return to the US for a family emergency, then flew back a week later to rejoin the tour! Another adventurous woman met a handsome Italian man. She rode away on his motorcycle, only to meet us several days later during a happy hour at our hotel. Vive l'amour.
How about especially rewarding moments?
While on a France guidebook research trip back in 1990 or so, I befriended a guide at le Mont St-Michel. She offered that on my next visit with a tour group she would take us on a "special tour" of the abbey. I could tell she was a top-notch guide, so this sounded intriguing. A few weeks later, she met my tour group and proceeded to walk us up from the base of the island to the very top of the massive church, where we explored rooms that were strictly closed to the public (her key set was massive). That was pretty wonderful, but she wasn't finished. The tour ended with her unlocking a small door and leading us all out onto a flying buttress. Yes, I mean on top of the buttress! Centuries ago, a very narrow walkway had been built for maintenance purposes. As our adrenaline kicked in we half-walked, half-crawled to panoramic, jaw-numbing views over the church, the island, the bay, and halfway to England (and sincerely appreciating the solid work of stonemasons from 800 years ago). Those tour members still talk about that experience today.
Today, that original tour itinerary has grown to five. Which one is your favorite?
That's like asking me to choose my favorite child. Sorry, but that's impossible. As co-author of our France books, I am often asked to name my favorite region, and the honest answer is that I can't pick one. Each region in France is unique and our tours reflect that. Since France's forte is its incredible variety, we need five tours to do it justice. That said, each itinerary has its niche (and length). If you've never been to France, I'd take Paris & the Heart of France (Paris, Loire, Burgundy, and Normandy). If you love food and wine, take the Eastern France tour (Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy, and Provence). If you are looking for the most variety in one tour, take Loire to the South of France (Chartres, Loire, Dordogne, Languedoc, Provence, and Riviera). If you prefer independence, take the My Way tour. And if you can't stop dreaming of Paris, take the week-long Paris tour. Ooh la la, better yet, make the choice easy and just take them all!
Today, 14 different guides combine to lead Rick Steves' France tours. You hired all of them and know them well. Tell us about them.
Our France guides reflect the variety you find in this amazing country. While each guide is different, they all know every corner of France, and are passionate about the country and their work as teachers. Half of our guides are French, and they lead a majority of our tours. But we also have three American guides, one Canadian, one Brit, one German, and one Dutch guide. While our French guides include the cool accent, no one should feel disappointed to have a nonnative guide. Each of them has chosen to live (or spend much of their lives) in France, and they are just as excited (if not moreso!) about France as a French native. Our American guides have the great advantage of understanding what tickles Americans' curiosity, and can speak to that. Each guide brings their own background and perspective to our guide meetings, and that further enriches our France program.
After such a busy and rewarding career, what's next for Steve Smith?
Looks like I won't be bored any time soon.
Steve Smith today, guiding in the 1990s, researching our France guidebooks with Rick, biking in Burgundy. "In those early days we were complete travel industry outsiders, more enthusiastic than experienced, always improvising, and working without a net every day."


Students didn't have much luck getting a glimpse of the Solar Eclipse on the 20th March 2015.
Please watch the video above for more information (Channel TV footage).
Watch this clip to see our students trying to catch a glimpse of the Solar Eclipse.


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