Violent crime spree causing businesses to suffer

The recent spate of violent crimes around the country is beginning to take its toll as more Malaysians are now reluctant to venture out at night due to safety reasons, which in turn have caused businesses to reduce their operating hours.

The Star reported that those who have cut down their operating hours include clinics, restaurants, convenience stores and petrol stations in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and several other major towns.

Senior medical practitioner Dr Milton Lum said some of the 24-hour clinics had reduced their opening hours to between 13 and 18 hours while others had tightened security. Some of the bigger clinics had resorted to employing security guards.

Lum, a Malaysian Medical Council member, said the smaller clinics kept their main doors locked as part of safety measures, according to The Star. He added that employing security guards increased the cost of operating a clinic.

Two petrol stations along Persiaran Raja Muda Musa in Kuala Lumpur used to operate round the clock. But they now open at 5am and close by midnight, said National Consumer Complaints Centre deputy director K. Ravin.

The Star quoted him as saying the petrol stations have reduced their business hours after being robbed three times. He revealed there were at least five mini markets located at petrol stations which no longer allowed their customers to browse inside after certain hours.

"The customers can only make purchases by telling the staff what they wanted and the item would be passed through a small opening at the cashier's counter," Ravin said, adding it was a case of once bitten, twice shy.

One popular chain of convenience stores now allows transactions via a small window after midnight as part of security measures to prevent theft. The manager of a 7-11 outlet in Damansara, Shafiq Mat Lazim, said certain areas were designated as dangerous locations and transactions were conducted via a small window.

"I have heard of outlets at certain quiet locations in the Klang Valley which keep their doors locked from midnight until 6am. Some of these outlets have suffered so much from robberies that they have resorted to hiring security guards."

"Here at our outlet in Damansara, we still allow people into the shop but we have noted that business has dropped considerably at night. On average, we used to have about 50 walk-ins but it has since dropped to about 20," The Star quoted Shafiq as saying.

Last week, police arrested five college students who are believed to have robbed 7-11 outlets in Sri Hartamas, Bandar Kinrara and Kelana Jaya over a period of several months. The five suspects typically stole beer, cigarettes and cash.

The glass doors of a KK Mart outlet in Damansara Uptown displays A4 posters depicting CCTV images taken of people behaving suspiciously inside the outlet. The store supervisor said the posters, which had bold, red fonts of the words 'Perompak! Pencuri!' (Robber! Thief!), was to alert customers.

Identified only as Omar, the store supervisor said there were police contact numbers of the poster to enable customers to alert the authorities if they saw something amiss. The staff have also been trained on what to do in an emergency.

Meanwhile, president of the Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association, Noorul Hassan Saul Hameed said one of the reasons why nasi kandar operators had reduced their operating hours was due to extortion demands.

"Gangs are demanding protection money from nasi kandar operators. Some of our members were paying several hundred ringgit every month to ensure that these thugs don't cause trouble at the shop," he was quoted by The Star as saying.

On Monday, the luxury car of a prominent businessman with the title of Datuk Seri was bombed by unknown parties. The businessman, who owns several restaurants and clubs in the Klang Valley, escaped unhurt with his driver.

Three shootings in the space of 24 hours on Thursday in Penang has alarmed the state government over security on the island. They have offered to pool their resources with the police to clamp down on crime and resolve the issue together.