SHAH ALAM - The crime rate in Selangor has reduced by almost 40 per cent in the last five years from 21,338 cases to 12,982 recorded last year.
This, Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said was a significant reduction.
"In 2017, the crime index was 25,946, compared to 21,000 in 2018 and 17,000 in 2020. There was also a significant reduction in 2021 from 14,710 cases to 12,982 last year.
"However it slightly increased by 6.75 per cent in the first six months of this year compared to the first half of last year.
"The increase was mainly due to cases of theft in open areas as well as motorcycle theft.
"However, Selangor is becoming a safer place as a developed state compared to five years ago," he told Sinar Daily during an interview.
Commenting on the crime rate, Klang MP V. Ganabatirau said although the number of cases in the constituency has reduced, crimes such as robbery, murder and gang fights were still happening.
However, he said the police were doing their best to prevent the crimes in the state by frequently patrolling the areas, among others.
He said there was a perception in regards with the crime rate in Klang and this was because the constituency was one of the most populated areas in the state.
Since the constituency was a highly populated area, securtiy force omnipresence was much needed, he added.
"Selangor iself is highly populated. Klang comprises Kota Raja, Kapar and some parts of Shah Alam, among others and it is a very huge district with a huge population.
"The district police headquarters are also divided into two which were the North Klang district police headquarters (IPD) and South Klang IPD as it is a huge constituency.
"This shows the need of the security force presence in these areas," he told Sinar Daily.
Ganabatirau said three months ago he contributed RM10,000 to the constituency for drones to identify the crime rates in certain zones which will be launched soon.
He added that he would be contributing RM20,000 for one of the programmes by the South Klang IPD in Pandamaran next month.
Besides that, he said he has also made a contribute for the upgrade of some facilities to the Pandamaran police station.
"However, honestly their target is more on the Kapar area and I’m still in communication with the superior officers (police) and my focus is on South Klang IPD as I would frequently meet the district police chief and deputy chief," he said.
He said he was also working together with the IPD officers to help them improve their facilities as it would help in fighting crime in Klang.
He also said as the representative of the constituency, he would work closely with the police and they have built a good relationship.
However, he said he did not want to interfere so much in the police's activities and was just helping and supporting them.
Meanwhile, he said whenever referring to crime, there was a stigma that only particular races were involved in such cases.
This, is said was untrue.
"Maybe some people in the neighbourhood would drink at night and make some noise, but other things are also there.
"Now we can see people are moving to new developments such as in Bukit Raja, Bukit Tinggi and Parklands. Last time people didn't want to move to Klang but now you see that Klang has become a vibrant city.
"We can also see in the well-settled neighbourhoods such as the retirement area like Southern Park, Melawis, Palm Groove or even Bayu Perdana where you can see people are settled well.
"It is not to say that there’s no crime, but they are well settled without the gated and guarded areas such as Southern Park and they can enjoy a good lifestyle.
"This is why we as the public need to play a role here. My overall view is if there’s a reduction in the stigma itself the crime itself would go down," he said.
He added that promoting public awareness on crime issues was important and he would voice out concerns pertaining to such issues at the Parliament level.
Additionally, he added that RM1.7 billion was allocated for Klang being a large constituency in the state.
"There are 175 schools and we need to prioritise funds properly and my office has become a social clinic as everyday people come in to tell me what they need.
"Hence, channelling the funds to the police would be better," he said.
He added that the challenge in combating crime in Klang was because it was the sixth largest constituency with 2,600 voters which was why there were two IPDs and Port Klang was one of the biggest ports as well.
"The gap between the low income and high income groups is significant and then there’s a lot of foreigners in the district," he added.