Malaysia police hiding crime data, group alleges
A Malaysian anti-crime group on Wednesday accused the government and police of manipulating data to hide the true level of serious offences in the country, which faces hotly anticipated elections this year. R. Sri Sanjeevan, chairman of the Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force and an opposition party member, said confidential police documents obtained by the group revealed police were leaving some serious offences out of those used to calculate official crime rates. Those omitted included kidnapping, extortion, assault and other crimes, he said. "There is crime data manipulation to mislead the public," he said at a news briefing. "I would say the home minister and the police chief are committing a crime." Crime has emerged as a major public concern in Malaysia. Residents of the multi-ethnic Muslim-majority country -- one of the most developed and stable in Southeast Asia -- have long complained about bag-snatching and other petty crime. But more serious recent assaults and other incidents have gained wide attention on the Internet, channelling public concern in a country where nearly half the population of 29 million is on Facebook. A survey released last week by leading polling firm Merdeka Center found that "crime and social problems" ranked as the number-two public concern among respondents, after the economy. Prime Minister Najib Razak, who must hold elections by late June, pledged to reduce crime after taking power in 2009 and his government has claimed progress, saying the crime problem is being hyped online. The government has said the number of reported crimes fell 11.1 percent in 2011 and was down 10 percent in the first half of 2012, crediting police work. The claims have met with scepticism, however, in a country whose police force is widely viewed as lacking professionalism and whose reputation has been marred by recurring cases of suspects or witnesses dying in custody. "They (the government) want to tell that Malaysia is safe. But the country is not safe," said Sanjeevan, a member of the People's Justice Party headed by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. A police spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. Sanjeevan unveiled confidential police documents that he said showed that crime numbers in some states were higher than officially reported. However, he cautioned that publication of the numbers, covering last year, could infringe upon the Official Secrets Act (OSA), adding that he was willing to face that risk "in the interest of the nation".
