Turf war or not, something must be done, says the opposition

The case by the police that the high, nearly daily gun violence never before seen in Malaysia is just a turf war among the underworld is an irrelevant argument, the DAP says.

At least 38 cases of assault or murder involving firearms were reported in the four months to July, nearly as many as for the whole of 2012, according to media reports. In Penang alone, 19 shootings have taken place this year.

"They should do their jobs properly and ensure that such violence doesn't occur on our streets in the first place," DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua told The Malaysian Insider.

He also questioned if there was really a turf war out there involving former Emergency Ordinance (EO) detainees adding that this was a very general statement issued by the police.

"The police have not been specific about the so-called involvement of former detainees, whether they were released last year, or five years ago, or longer."

Pua then cited the case of a prominent businessman whose car was bombed on Monday where police have still not revealed much details about the victim.

"Without all this information, it is premature to make assumptions that a turf war has erupted. Anyway, these crimes should be resolved by the police."

Criminalogist associate professor P. Sundramoorthy from Universiti Sains Malaysia shared Pua's sentiments.

"While some people may think these are merely criminals taking out criminals, the violence should not be tolerated in any form in our society," said Sundramoorthy, adding that the level of violent crimes seen over the past few months was unprecendented.

"There has not been such a spate of shooting incidents in Malaysia since the days of the communist insurgency. The difference is that communism was an ideology and these are criminal cases."

"We recommended that amendments be made to the preventive law to ensure that it was not abused and to prevent errors," he added.

A senior police officer from Bukit Aman told The Malaysian Insider this current crime spree was about gangsters mowing down gangsters, and that the ordinary citizens were not the targets.

The police officer explained that the more than 2,000 hardened criminals who were released from preventive laws last year were among the top leaders in secret societies, such as Gangs 04, 08 and 36.

"Before they were locked up, they earned substantial incomes, drove luxury cars and owned houses. They lost everything when they were detained under preventive laws.

“These gangs have territories where they collect protection money from local businesses, run illegal gaming cybercafes and drug trafficking,” the source said.

The Bukit Aman source added that when the gang leaders were put away, their subordinates grabbed the opportunity to rise through the ranks and succeed their deposed leaders.

And during this new regime, the new leaders consolidated their power and authority while maintaining a grip on their respective territories.

"After the preventive laws were abolished, the gang leaders returned to their former territories to discover that their power and positions were usurped by their former subordinates," the officer revealed.

"Of course, having reached the top and supped at the highest tables, the new heads would not relinquish their positions of power easily."

But the released gangsters were also not content to become the subordinates of their former underlings, thus sparking a civil war within these gangs.

"The deposed leaders are attempting to wrestle back control while their former subordinate are trying to cling on to power," the officer disclosed.

But Sundramoorthy pointed out there is still a public security issue. He said the danger of gangsters mowing down gangsters is that civilians may get caught in the crossfire.

Sundramoorthy said a study on crime was commissioned by the government in 2010 to analyse the crime trends and patterns in Malaysia between 1977 and 2009.

"One of the conclusions that we drew was that while the EO infringed on human rights and democracy, it was advisable to retain the preventive law that focused on public safety."