Descending to anarchy

As the Kota Raya incident shows, people don't seem to fear the law or to respect authority any more.

COMMENT

Last Wednesday, something happened that should never have happened.

Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM), a consumer association, raided the Kota Raya Complex and retrieved RM11,900 from several mobile phone shops. PPIM said the money belonged to seven people who had been cheated by unethical traders. Apparently, one of the victims had been locked in a room for refusing to buy four mobile phones after he was asked to pay RM10,000 for the items rather than the RM800 agreed.

Many netizens lauded PPIM’s action, and perhaps rightly so. It was a noble, proactive and bold thing to do.

However, Alias Ahmad, Secretary-General of the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry, said PPIM should not have taken matters into its own hands because it could have invited untoward incidents. Thankfully, there weren’t any untoward incidents, though the owners of two shops at the complex sold off their businesses the following day.

PPIM chief Nadzim Johan has defended the NGO’s actions, saying it could not always wait for the authorities to take action as the latter had too much on their plate and not enough resources.

Both Alias and Nadzim made valid points. We have enforcement bodies so that they can take action against those who run afoul of the law. But enforcement, or rather the lack of it, still seems to a problem although the size of Malaysia’s civil service is often said to be out of proportion with the population.

Are the enforcement bodies managing the resources they have efficiently?

The Kota Raya Complex incident is not an isolated case. People just do not seem to be afraid of the law or to respect authority any more. Inconsiderate drivers on the road are constantly misusing emergency lanes, many taxi drivers do not use their fare metres, parking touts operate freely in many popular urban hangouts, illegal massage parlours and gambling dens thrive. The list goes on.

Many of us know where people most often misuse the emergency lanes or get cheated, where rogue taxi drivers operate, where you can gamble or end your day with a prostitute, but it seems that the authorities cannot get rid of these problems once and for all.

Many have been hurt or lost a loved one due to accidents which occur on the emergency lanes, many have been conned of their hard earned money, and many have had their families torn apart by gambling and prostitution. These people must find it hard to believe that the authorities care.

Eventually, we are bound to see more and more people take matters into their own hands as they will see it as the only way to get justice. Now, that’s the definition of anarchy.

We must not let this happen. Those entrusted with public office and given billions of tax money to manage must not let this happen. The government must commit more resources to ensure order and have the will to enforce the law against those who seek to break it. The rule of law must prevail, not the law of the jungle.