HOME Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mahmood Adam is used to getting tele

phone calls or text messages from his boss, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, between 1am and 3am.

This is the time when the Home Minister begins poring through the many documents and reports. They range from documents that require his signature for permanent residence applications to reports about detainees and prisoners.

From 6am onwards, Mahmood begins receiving calls from his civil service boss, the Chief Secretary Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan.

Mahmood, 56, the former Immigration Department director-general, is getting used to the pace of changes at Putrajaya.

This writer sent an SMS to Hishammuddin at around 1.45am one day to verify what Mahmood had claimed. Hishammuddin replied within 10 minutes.

The minister is tackling his task with much urgency. He understands the sentiments on the ground, particularly the frustrations of the ordinary people with increasing street crimes.

Crime featured prominently during the last general election. The inability of the police to fight crime effectively caused crucial votes to be lost to the opposition.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Hishammuddin understand the political stakes and are determined not to let this happen again.

Hishammuddin has reasons to be working overtime – Najib has set him a Key Perfor­mance Indicator (KPI) target.

He has to reduce street crime, especially snatch thefts and unarmed robbery, by 20% by the end of next year.

Street crime made up 17% of the overall crime index last year, with 72% of such cases happening in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor. But we can be sure that the number is higher, as many cases are not reported.

The plate is full for Hishammuddin. The police force has 90,000 personnel but only about 20,000 are on the ground fighting crime in a country of 27 million people.

More than 30% of the police personnel’s time is spent on administrative and clerical work, which only hamper their performance.

The police plan to take in another 60,000 to increase the number to 150,000 but this won’t happen overnight as rookies need to be trained. At present, an average of 6,000 trainees graduate from the five police academies each year.

Obviously, Hishammuddin cannot wait. The short-term plan would be to rope in members of Rela, the civil volunteer group, to assist the police in anti-crime operations.

Rela members have been restricted to crowd control and assisting the authorities in anti-illegal immigrant operations but the abuse of power among some black sheep has tarnished its image.

Lack of discipline and poor physical appearances have also contributed to tarnishing Rela’s image. I have seen personnel with unkempt hair and even young men with coloured hair at certain functions.

But the Home Minister has assured that only the best will be picked. Certainly, here is a chance for Rela to put on a new image and show that voluntary organisations should play their role in fighting crime.

The presence of uniformed personnel on the streets has proven to deter crime. It also provides a sense of security among the people. In Singapore, you can see many armed police officers along Orchard Road but that doesn’t seem to be the case for Malaysia in areas like Bukit Bintang.

It is commendable that Hishammuddin has ordered more CCTVs to be installed in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor.

But this should not just be the work of the police force. The various state councils should install more CCTVs, especially in Selangor.

The Sultan of Selangor has long expressed his displeasure at the snail’s pace of the state government in this area.

In an interview with Tuanku last year, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah used strong language to express his frustration and unhappiness at the delay, saying he was fed up with the excuses given. After all, Selangor has the highest crime rate.

Nothing should be spared in the fight against crime. Putting up more CCTVs, as in the United Kingdom where millions of cameras have been installed, has proven to be effective in preventing crime. In 2005, images of the suicide bombers in London were captured because of such CCTVs.

The Government should also consider setting up community police units similar to the volunteer police force to assist them, like the Armed Forces’ Reserve Officer Units (Rotu). These units should be set up in our colleges and universities by the police.

As we step up the fight against crime, let us not forget to help the police force by giving better allowances and perks. Poor working and financial conditions lead to corruption.

Police officers who put their lives on the line for our safety deserve better. If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

But fighting crime isn’t just the job of the police alone. Preventing crime from happening would help to reduce the number of cases.

Let’s help Hishammuddin achieve his target.

HOME Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mahmood Adam is used to getting tele

phone calls or text messages from his boss, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, between 1am and 3am.

This is the time when the Home Minister begins poring through the many documents and reports. They range from documents that require his signature for permanent residence applications to reports about detainees and prisoners.

From 6am onwards, Mahmood begins receiving calls from his civil service boss, the Chief Secretary Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan.

Mahmood, 56, the former Immigration Department director-general, is getting used to the pace of changes at Putrajaya.

This writer sent an SMS to Hishammuddin at around 1.45am one day to verify what Mahmood had claimed. Hishammuddin replied within 10 minutes.

The minister is tackling his task with much urgency. He understands the sentiments on the ground, particularly the frustrations of the ordinary people with increasing street crimes.

Crime featured prominently during the last general election. The inability of the police to fight crime effectively caused crucial votes to be lost to the opposition.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Hishammuddin understand the political stakes and are determined not to let this happen again.

Hishammuddin has reasons to be working overtime – Najib has set him a Key Perfor­mance Indicator (KPI) target.

He has to reduce street crime, especially snatch thefts and unarmed robbery, by 20% by the end of next year.

Street crime made up 17% of the overall crime index last year, with 72% of such cases happening in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor. But we can be sure that the number is higher, as many cases are not reported.

The plate is full for Hishammuddin. The police force has 90,000 personnel but only about 20,000 are on the ground fighting crime in a country of 27 million people.

More than 30% of the police personnel’s time is spent on administrative and clerical work, which only hamper their performance.

The police plan to take in another 60,000 to increase the number to 150,000 but this won’t happen overnight as rookies need to be trained. At present, an average of 6,000 trainees graduate from the five police academies each year.

Obviously, Hishammuddin cannot wait. The short-term plan would be to rope in members of Rela, the civil volunteer group, to assist the police in anti-crime operations.

Rela members have been restricted to crowd control and assisting the authorities in anti-illegal immigrant operations but the abuse of power among some black sheep has tarnished its image.

Lack of discipline and poor physical appearances have also contributed to tarnishing Rela’s image. I have seen personnel with unkempt hair and even young men with coloured hair at certain functions.

But the Home Minister has assured that only the best will be picked. Certainly, here is a chance for Rela to put on a new image and show that voluntary organisations should play their role in fighting crime.

The presence of uniformed personnel on the streets has proven to deter crime. It also provides a sense of security among the people. In Singapore, you can see many armed police officers along Orchard Road but that doesn’t seem to be the case for Malaysia in areas like Bukit Bintang.

It is commendable that Hishammuddin has ordered more CCTVs to be installed in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor.

But this should not just be the work of the police force. The various state councils should install more CCTVs, especially in Selangor.

The Sultan of Selangor has long expressed his displeasure at the snail’s pace of the state government in this area.

In an interview with Tuanku last year, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah used strong language to express his frustration and unhappiness at the delay, saying he was fed up with the excuses given. After all, Selangor has the highest crime rate.

Nothing should be spared in the fight against crime. Putting up more CCTVs, as in the United Kingdom where millions of cameras have been installed, has proven to be effective in preventing crime. In 2005, images of the suicide bombers in London were captured because of such CCTVs.

The Government should also consider setting up community police units similar to the volunteer police force to assist them, like the Armed Forces’ Reserve Officer Units (Rotu). These units should be set up in our colleges and universities by the police.

As we step up the fight against crime, let us not forget to help the police force by giving better allowances and perks. Poor working and financial conditions lead to corruption.

Police officers who put their lives on the line for our safety deserve better. If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

But fighting crime isn’t just the job of the police alone. Preventing crime from happening would help to reduce the number of cases.

Let’s help Hishammuddin achieve his target.

TEOH Beng Hock is buried and his family members, especially his fiancée, are beginning to pick up the remaining pieces of their lives.

But the politics of the dead DAP aide has just begun. His family had wanted the funeral to be a private affair and stressed to reporters that they have no interest in politics.

They politely received leaders from the political divide who paid their respects at the wake. They said they merely wanted answers.

In fact, the late Teoh’s parents said they had been against their son’s involvement in politics, and his fiancée said he had talked of giving up his job and settling down in Malacca.

But they did not get their way. In the end, the funeral became a huge political event.

For older Malaysians, it was reminiscent of the funeral marches with banners and flags of Socialist Front members in the 1960s.

The post-Teoh Beng Hock political fight has started. His face has taken over those of party leaders as a reminder to voters, and at ceramahs, he is the single issue.

On Wednesday, the inquiry into his death will begin. From Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) officers to family members to reporters who were the last to text him, all would be called up to testify at the hearing.

At their end, the police are already wrapping up their investigations and are expected to close the case any time now.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry will look into the procedural aspects of the MACC in carrying out its investigations.

It is likely that the members of the Com­mission would be named soon so that they can start work.

Unifying factor

Among the questions the public would like to know would be why Teoh, who was only a witness, had to be interviewed during unearthly hours.

The MACC, as an enforcement agency, is expected to shed some light into its operations as a law enforcement agency, its sensitivity to suspects tampering with evidence, and the element of surprise in raids and interviews.

Lacking in resources and manpower, the sentiment among the MACC is that it welcomes the Royal Commission.

Besides wanting to clear its name, the word is that the agency wants the public to know its frustrations too. The lack of financial allocations has long been a matter of concern.

It is incredulous that the MACC has no access to CCTV. It would have helped its case had Teoh been video-taped while he was being questioned.

The political dimension has also sharpened. The Pakatan Rakyat, which was reeling from differences among its partners, has now found a unifying factor – the death of Teoh Beng Hock.

Overnight, the public forgot and forgave their daily squabbles in the media with the attention being shifted to Teoh.

Even PKR MP Wee Choo Keong, who is said to be getting ready to reveal more wrongdoings in the Selangor state government, has not dared to proceed, obviously worried about the backlash.

PKR vice-president Azmin Ali, who had called for the sacking of some state exco members, has sealed his lips too.

The MACC has said it would continue with its investigations on some Pakatan state assemblymen on the abuse of development funds. But the fact is its attention would now be more on the inquest and the royal commission.

The MACC’s hands are not only full but are also tied. It is at its lowest ebb and it would now have to tread carefully.

But in cyberspace, the politics of Teoh has taken on a new form. A blog appeared on Thurs­day and was immediately a huge hit, becoming the front page of major newspapers and online news portals.

The blog has made allegations that allocations were siphoned off to non-existent organisations and individuals.

Documents purportedly showing questionable transactions have been posted online, and the third instalments were put up yesterday.

Psy-war

The blog has claimed that Teoh, to protect himself, made copies of all the false documents and dummy companies that were allegedly set up by the DAP. It claimed that Teoh left behind a hard disk containing all the information.

The psy-war has been fast and furious. State exco members Ronnie Liu and Ean Yong Hian Wah, who were named in the blog, called a press conference on Friday to rubbish the claims.

On the Net, the allegations were quickly dismissed as a hoax by Pakatan supporters while others pointed out the discrepancies in the issue.

The most named person in the documents was one Wong Chuan How, a second-term Sepang municipal councillor and businessman.

He has been entrusted with the job of looking after the Sungai Panjang seat, held by Datuk Seri Dr Khir Toyo, and the Sungai Pelek state seat.

At the same time, it has been revealed that there was a laceration on Teoh’s wrist, giving rise to speculation on whether it was self-inflicted, if he was coerced into cutting his wrist, or if the injury was sustained during the fall.

Answers, answers and answers – that’s what the people want; and they want convincing ones, too.

A man who is a novice to politics has died in a most tragic way with his body found sprawled on the fifth floor of a 20-storey building after a 10-hour grilling by the Malay­sian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

A decent man, son, husband- and father-to-be is tragically gone, at a time when he and his loved ones were about to start a new chapter in their lives the next day.

There are many unanswered questions over how he died and Malaysians with any conscience should speak up and demand answers.

It’s not a question of protecting the integrity and credibility of the MACC; the issue here is about knowing the truth.

Malaysians find it hard to accept any suggestion that he committed suicide nor can we accept any insensitive innuendoes over his death.

The job is now with the police. They must investigate the case professionally, efficiently and quickly. We want the findings to be transparent. In fact, the Government should accept the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry, with the power to call up witnesses. This is the only way to satisfy the public who have questioned the credibility of our institutions.

That will also prove that the Government has nothing to hide and is as interested as everyone else to get to the truth.

The Prime Minister and the Home Minister have both given their assurances that the case would be investigated thoroughly and when the Cabinet meets on Wednesday, it is most certain to be a top item on the agenda.

A lot of anger has been directed against the MACC because Teoh was in their custody hours before he was found dead. He was a witness to a corruption case involving misuse of allocations by several state assemblymen.

But the method applied in the interrogation is now being questioned. Teoh was brought in for questioning – as a witness and not as an accused – after the MACC raided the office of his boss, exco member Ean Yong Hian Wah, at 4pm on Wednesday.

He was released on Thursday at 3.45am. He said he was tired and took a nap on the settee at the MACC office, purportedly at 6am.

No CCTV

What happened between 6am and 1.30pm should now be the point of any investigation. The question here should also be whether there was a need for Teoh to be subjected to such long hours of questioning.

On the standard operating procedures of the MACC, it is clear that there is an urgent need for CCTVs to be installed in the questioning room. Cameras must be placed in the front and back of the interviewee.

In the case of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission on Anti Corruption, they do not even allow tables with edges to be placed, lest they are accused of causing injuries to the interviewees.

From press reports, it is shocking that there is no CCTV in the room, office and corridors of the building. It’s not the right place for an enforcement agency. In short, security is horrendous and it fails to comply with any safety requirements.

The anger towards the authorities, especially the MACC, is expected. It has had a serious credibility problem since the days when it was known as the Anti Corruption Agency.

It was revamped with a new name, the MACC, and independent panels involving prominent personalities were appointed to help revamp and improve its image.

It has been an uphill task as the MACC has continued to be bogged down with perceptions that it practises selective prosecution.

The latest case has given the MACC another beating and more than that, if not properly handed, it could give rise to serious political implications.

The Prime Minister, who has been riding high with increasing popular ratings, is bound to find himself on the defensive now.

Pakatan Rakyat, reeling from open internal bickering, has seized this issue to regain lost ground.

Just last week, the issue was PKR MP Wee Choo Keong accusing a Selangor exco member of links with underworld activities while another PKR MP, Azmin Ali, called for a revamp in the state exco.

No name or political party was mentioned but there were innuendoes of cases relating to massage parlours and billboard licences. At the same time, several Pakatan assemblymen were probed for misuse of allocations.

All these cases are now being overshadowed by the death of Teoh and surely no PKR politician would dare to pursue the cases further as there would be a political backlash for sure.

Don’t jump the gun

But the Deputy Prime Minister is right. Let’s not be too quick to hurl accusations based on suspicions, emotions and prejudices.

Lest we forget, in 2006, many were too quick to condemn the police for the nude squat incident, where a fair-skinned woman was concluded to be a Chinese national.

A diplomatic row almost erupted with China after a mobile phone video clip was leaked. Chinese tour groups, including those from Taiwan and Hong Kong, even cancelled their tours when the news broke out.

In the end, the woman turned out to be a Malay woman and two Chinese newspaper editors had to resign over the issue.

It may not be a similar comparison as this involves a death and any suggestion to call for calm would be dismissed as being apologetic and sycophantic, given the state of affairs.

The investigations by the MACC, police or hopefully by an independent panel will be closely watched by Malaysians. There should be no room for any wrongdoings or cover-ups and those guilty must be arrested.

This is about a human being who has died in a most tragic manner; we must all help to find the answers.

OUR education system is in a mess, isn’t it? We now have a situation where our children will study almost all subjects in Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese or Tamil in primary schools.

Then, they study mostly in BM at secondary level including Maths and Science, if the nationalists have their way, and at tertiary level, the lectures are in BM but almost all the reference books are in English.

We are told the Government has abandoned the teaching of Maths and Science in English because our teachers and children cannot cope.

The logic is that it’s bad enough that our students are failing in English, despite the low grades for passing, but they are now falling behind in Maths and Science because of the medium of instruction.

So the panic button has been pressed. The Malay nationalists and Chinese educationists who have never seen anything eye to eye suddenly have a joint stand.

So have the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat leaders. Despite the anger directed against the Government by many urbanites who advocate the use of English, the fact is that most oppositionists also share the same sentiments.

From Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to former Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin, who proposed a motion to halt the use of English at the recent PAS general assembly, they have pushed the same line.

PKR MP Zulkifli Nordin, who is a member of the PR’s Higher Education Committee – its version of the shadow cabinet – has expressed his jubilation at the decision. In fact, the Kulim Bandar Baharu lawmaker has questioned the relevance of English, pointing out that the mostly English-speaking Filipinos have become domestic maids and the Japanese did not need English to achieve what they did. Both sides have had their say, with the nationalists even taking to the streets, where they were joined by PAS and PKR leaders, to make their stand known.

The reality is this – the advocates of English, mainly in urban areas, have lost their case. Thus, the great deal of unhappiness and even anger over the past few days.

There has been talk of punishing the Government in the polls, forgetting that the Opposition has taken the same position.

From the traditional kampung to the new villages, the findings have shown that our students are struggling.

Many do not have the opportunity to be exposed to English or to have tuition to help them. It does not help that they are not in an English-speaking home environment .

It is this group of people who will lag behind eventually, not the middle class and elites in the cities, who would have other alternatives. It’s a Catch 22 situation – either they fail in Maths and Science, together with English, or they pass in at least two of these crucial subjects, if BM or Chinese or Tamil is used.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who speaks English mostly, understands this better than anyone else. So does Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who studied in the United Kingdom.

The Government and Opposition have both denied that this is a political decision but education in Malaysia has always been politicised, which is most unfortunate.

In Hong Kong, despite being under the rule of mainland China, the educationists have reverted to the use of English to teach Maths and Science. But they are practical people with a clear understanding of the economic value of English and Mandarin.

But here, narrow nationalism seems to be the overriding concern. We bypassed the need for competitive edge without giving much thought to the future of our children.

It’s rubbish when politicians and nationalists equate the promotion of English to the legacy of the British colonial masters. English is the language of the sciences, economics and the Internet.

It is the wish of the majority, no doubt, to abandon English but we have essentially postponed the problem.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has spoken passionately against the decision, but he only found the political courage to use English for these two subjects at the tail end of his 22-year administration. He continued the same national language policy which has killed the standard of English among young Malaysians.

The majority of respondents who rallied to his blog supported English but such a survey in Malay, Tamil or Chinese newspapers would have the same majority supporting mother tongue. This has been a politically, if not emotionally, disturbing issue. There would be a heavier price to pay for this in the long term.

The level of English has already gone down the drain with the majority of teachers almost incompetent to use the language, let alone teach it. It has been revealed by Muhyiddin that only 19.2% of secondary school teachers and 9.96% of primary teachers are sufficiently proficient in English.

Grades have been compromised in our school exams to the point that a student with a distinction in English is treated suspiciously by employers in the private sector and international universities.

It would come as no surprise if more stringent rules on English proficiency are imposed on our students in future by foreign universities. The high number of unmarketable local graduates who cannot speak or write English efficiently will increase as the public sector would be unable to absorb them.

This could be a potential political flash point and there are already signs of it as many cannot get an interview once their application letters and e-mail have been read.

It is reassuring that the Prime Minister has said that the focus on English would continue with only the methods changed.

There has to be more teaching hours in English and asking retired teachers to come back can only be a short-term measure as its practicality is questionable.

A decision has been made but for our children’s sake, please keep English for Maths and Science, at least at the secondary school level.

In other words, he is now an independent and will no longer support the Pakatan state government following the Kedah DAP’s decision to pull out of it.

As much as Pakatan Rakyat leaders want to put on a brave and united front, this is a serious blow to the coalition. The implications are enormous and the damage is highly explosive.

The Kedah state government has certainly not collapsed over the pull-out but feelings and pride have been wounded.

DAP leader Lim Kit Siang has rightly described the latest crack as the “second crisis of confidence”, with the first being PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s attempt to hold unity talks with Umno.

The contentious issues that led to the split in Kedah are the demolition of an illegal pig abattoir and the 50% bumi quota for houses in the state.

The DAP and PAS have had a patchy relationship for a while as the secular party is aware that it would have to deal with personalities who make erratic statements in the name of religion.

They realised the need to work together with PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim holding the glue, and the results were the extraordinary performance in the March 8 polls.

True colours

DAP leaders are also aware of the compromises they have made as a result of the alliance with PAS, who is bent on setting up an Islamic state.

Except for a few reformists who made the occasional speeches in churches, such as Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, the reality is that the men in green will never change.

Even Khalid supported a resolution calling for the banning of Sisters in Islam, but then claimed it was wrongly worded. But the point is the resolution was never retracted. It was adopted and Hadi even defended the party’s right to make that call.

Popular as Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin may be with many Malaysians, that does not stop him from calling for an end to the use of English to teach Maths and Science.

To top it all, Hadi has now opposed the Prime Minister’s announcement to abolish the 30% equity requirements for companies seeking public listing.

He has cited the same, tired argument put up by those insisting on such a policy to be maintained by claiming that bumiputras are not ready to face many economic challenges.

But Hadi, playing the racial card, has chosen to forget the fishermen and farmers in Terengganu who would certainly not be the beneficiaries of these equity rules. His statement was intended to make Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak look bad in the rural heartland.

Najib’s decision, ahead of his 100 days in office, is bold and courageous. None of his predecessors dared to take this step despite being in office much longer than him.

The result was that Malaysia lost its attractiveness as a place for investment and with few companies seeking public listing now, even before the global financial crisis, the bumiputra equity has become irrelevant.

Najib’s decision is practical but it also demonstrates the level of leadership he has commanded in the party.

His decision has made Malaysia headline news around the world. I was in London last week when the Financial Times published a prominent article on the move.

I do not think Hadi does not understand the economic impact of Najib’s liberalisation policy. He is a clever man, even if his credentials are just on theology. But he has opted for political expediency at the expense of the country’s economy, and that is hardly divine.

Hadi’s attempt to abandon his Pakatan Rakyat partners, in the name of unity talks, must have shaken his DAP and PKR partners.

In the case of Kedah, the 50% bumi quota for houses will hurt both bumi and non-bumi developers, who will end up paying more for these additional allocations, even if one claims that the state is predominantly Malay.

In the March 8 polls, there were many non-Muslims who gave their votes to PAS, not because they supported the Islamist party but because they wanted to punish Barisan Nasional.

Many voters could not accept the arrogance of some Umno leaders and the corruption in the party.

A strong message was sent – we can no longer tolerate policies and practices that are perceived to be discriminating to non-Malays. They chose the elections to punish the Barisan, particularly Umno.

But as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. It may be a case of deciding on the devil and the deep blue sea for some, but moderation and accommodation must not be ignored.

Umno leaders should not be overly worried about how the Malays feel about their policies as their concern should be the middle ground – the majority of Malaysians, regardless of their race, who will vote in the general election.

There’s little point in winning the party elections as communal champions, but then be wiped out in the general election.

It’s the voice of moderation and accommodation, as early Umno leaders like Tunku Abdul Rahman adopted and which made them revered until today, that works.

At the end of the day, the wishes of Malay­sians are simple. They want fairness, transparency, justice and accountability. These values transcend all races.

The last thing they want is a patchy federal or state government that is weak or in danger of collapsing any time because of ideological differences and the inability to forge a working relationship.