PUTRAJAYA (Aug 14, 2013): The Education and Higher Learning Ministry has

proposed that the police set up a special department to curb crime and gangsterism in
problematic schools nationwide. Deputy Minister P. Kamalanathan said the department
would be able to help schools monitor students' activities. He said the proposal is similar
to tourist police units helping to prevent crime in tourist destinations or hotspots in the
country. His proposal includes roping in auxiliary police into the department to be trained
to deal with the problem.
He said police could also set up beat bases in problematic schools nationwide to help
increase their presence. Kamalanathan said the presence of police will help deter the
recruitment of school children into triad gangs. "I suggested something similar in 2011 to
the Home Ministry when I was just an MP for Hulu Selangor. I am bringing it up again
now," he said when met at his office today. Kamalanathan said this in response to a
comment by MyWatch co-founder S. Gobi Krishnan that recruitment into triad gangs
starts in school compounds. It was reported that gangs usually targeted youths from the
urban poor, who came from broken families and lived in flats near their schools, as they
were the most vulnerable and accessible.
Kamalanathan said although the government has requested increased police patrols
around school areas, the responsibility does not solely lie with the force. He said both
parents and school authorities also play a vital role in ensuring the safety of students. He
said crime prevention clubs in schools should also be enhanced and strengthened to create
more awareness programmes on crime. There are 10,091 national schools nationwide.
Meanwhile, Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) vice-chairman Tan Sri Lee
Lam Thye described the proposal as a step in the right direction, adding that negative
activities and social ills must be removed from schools. "The police can help fight the
occurrences of gangs recruiting in schools and drug dealers targeting vulnerable
youngsters," he added. However, he said, adequate manpower was vital for the proposal
to be effective.
Lee also suggested that crime prevention clubs in schools complement the new
department by educating students on the dangers of getting involved with gangs. "MCPF
set up crime prevention clubs in schools many years ago and there are now 5,200 such
clubs nationwide at primary and secondary level," he said. "These clubs can organise
talks along with the police and raise awareness on the consequences of crime. Having the
police show their support for these clubs will help," he added.
 Penang secondary school students arrested over alleged gangsterism
GEORGE TOWN, Aug 15 Police have arrested four male students from a number of
secondary schools here over alleged gangsterism activities, said Penang chief police
officer Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi.
He said the students, aged between 15 and 18, were picked up in Persiaran Tembaga and
Jalan Sungai Dua last Wednesday, and they were believed to be members of secret
societies.
"Three of them are being held under remand for four days while one has been released on
police bail because he has to sit for a test at his school tomorrow (today)," he told
reporters at an Aidilfitri reception at the North East District Police headquarters here last
night.
Abdul Rahim said the case was the first this year involving gangsterism among school
students and that so far there had been two reports lodged with the police.
Last Friday, a Form Three student reported to the police that he was forced to join a secret
society by one of the suspects and pay 'protection money' of RM4 a month since
December last year, he said.
The student said he was informed that he would have to pay RM400 as 'a ransom' to
withdraw from the secret society.
In another case, a Form One student claimed that he was beaten with a piece of PVC pipe
by three students, one of them a girl, at a food stall near his school in Sungai Nibong on
Aug 6.
Abdul Rahim said the police took a serious view of the recruitment of school students
into secret societies, and added that individuals targeted students from their former school
for gangsterism activities.
"The police have identified these gangs and are monitoring their movements for further
action," he said.
Abdul Rahim also said that 31 cases of murder had occurred in the state between January
and yesterday and that 20 of them involved foreigners, among them five Myanmar
nationals, one Indian and one Bangladeshi. The other foreigners had yet to be identified.
He said 13 of the cases had been solved and 11 had been classified as sudden death, while
there was no information yet on the rest. Bernama