Ex-CM Ali Rustam blames opposition for shootings

Former Malacca chief minister Ali Rustam reportedly said that the opposition must take the blame for the recent spate of shooting cases because the latter had championed the abolishment of preventive detention laws.

“Shooting cases are on the rise because the Emergency Ordinance (EO) and Internal Security Act (ISA) have both been abolished, which was demanded by the opposition,” he was quoted as saying by Malay daily Berita Harian today.

“The opposition must take responsibility for what has happened,” the Umno supreme council member was further quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the paper also reported Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as claiming that “90 percent” of the recent shooting cases had been done by ex-EO detainees.

Zahid, who had urged that a new law be formulated to bring back the spirit of the EO, reportedly said that this was based on preliminary police investigations, which revealed that ex-EO detainees are active in crime again and are also taking “revenge” against witnesses that had caused their arrests previously.

Sinar Harian also reported former inspector-general of police (IGP) Abdul Rahim Noor (left) as blaming the recent shooting cases on the lack of the EO.

He said that the criminals are “no longer afraid” due to the absence of the preventive detention law.

Rahim said that he “regretted” human rights NGOs’ stand against the EO, claiming that they “do not understand” the situation".

The past week had seen several fatal shooting cases take place across the country.

The high-profile cases include the fatal shooting of AmBank founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi in broad daylight in Kuala Lumpur, and also the shooting of MyWatch chairperson R Sri Sanjeevan in Jempol on Saturday.

Sanjeevan survived the attack, but remains in the Serdang Hospital and had undergone critical surgery.