One more dead in JB, did you notice, Pak Lah?

This is so sad.

The Star, Monday 24 April 2006

JOHOR BARU: A healthcare product sales representative, who was the victim of a snatch theft, died at the Hospital Sultanah Aminah here.

Chang Ser Ling, 24, died at around 1pm on Saturday. She had fallen after her handbag was snatched by a group of 10 motorcyclists at Taman Suria here on Thursday.

Johor CID chief Senior Asst Comm II Datuk Abdul Rahim Jaafar said the incident occurred at 6.30pm when Chang and a friend were walking to a nearby bus station to board a bus home to their rented house in Jalan Maju here.

Chang, who hit her stomach against a bump on the road when she fell, had first sought treatment from a nearby clinic.

However, on Friday, she was sent to the hospital for surgery.

“On Friday, at around 5pm, she underwent surgery, but died on Saturday at around 1pm.

“We will have to wait for post-mortem results to determine the cause of death,” said SAC (II) Abdul Rahim when contacted, adding that police have yet to classify the case because it is believed the victim had leukaemia.

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Is this not another reason to urgently implement the SAFE CITY programme nationwide?

If the state can send a group of 55 people from the police, Immigration, JB City Council, Johor Religious Department, and RELA to flush out a self-styled Black Metal group in Tampoi last week, I don't see any reason why the same kind of zeal cannot be displayed to flush out petty and dangerous criminals like snatch thieves and armed robbers.

Pak Lah, in an interview with Johan Jaafar on national TV, said:-

"He implored the people to change with the times, to discard old baggage and to shift our paradigms. The issue about a first-class mentality and First World values is not “cakap kosong” (empty talk). We have to work to achieve that. We have the strength, the capabilities and the infrastructure, and we can do it. To him, failure is not an option."

PAK LAH - this is a personal appeal.

Can you spearhead this matter and make it your personal agenda to ensure every citizen in this country will be free from such a vile threat to their lives?

I know it is unrealistic to expect that this latest victim to die at the hands of a snatch thief in JB will be the last. It will happen again, if not in JB, then most certainly in some other township in Malaysia. But surely we can make such incidents an exception rather than the norm?

And if no one takes a BOLD step to stop these killers from doing further harm to innocent civilians, then our lives are not worth the few ringgit these thieves are after.

There must be a way to reduce these heinous incidences. We look to YOU, being our LEADER, to find a way. Because only YOU can direct the state governments and the police force to be serious about this matter.

We cannot treat such deaths as mere "mati katak." It is a downright shameful and disgraceful display of apathy by our law enforcers and our ruling government.

If I am so lucky as to get this message through to you, I want to thank you for your attention. And I pray that you will do something positive about it.

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Recent links to this subject matter:-

JB gets Bukit Aman attention, Selangor next? (Sunday, 23 Apr)
Maverick's support for Safe City call (Sunday, 23 Apr)
Residents living in fear (The Star, 22 Apr)
Actress and film producer victim of snatch theft (The Star, 22 Apr)
Safe City Concept - anyone interested? (Friday, 21 Apr)
This one just freaks me out (Thursday, 20 Apr)
Can something be done about Johor's crime rate? (Wednesday, Apr 12)
We are not so safe anymore (Thursday, Jan 19)
Living in Denial (Blogger Yee Pei, Jan 7)