EDITOR'S NOTE~Rising Costs = Rising Crime?

Thursday, 3 July 2008

EDITOR'S NOTE~Rising Costs = Rising Crime?

Fuel Hike May Cost More Than Just Higher Cost of Living

WHEN sms' came barging into my phone on the day news came out about the hike in petrol, I was in a meeting and brushed it aside as just mere rumors.

But when the onslaught of sms' kept coming over the next half an hour, I sensed this could be true. A phone call to a reliable source at the relevant Ministry confirmed it.

“Yes, petrol is going up! But rebates are being put in place to ease the burden,” was the reply on the other side of the phone.

The quantum was told to me but I argued – that's just slightly more than RM50 a month! We are going to be in trouble was my reply.

That very night itself long lines of cars and even motorcycles waited their turn at the petrol kiosks. No. I did not join the queue. Something (call it six sense if you wish) made me fill up just around noon.

But the concerns of rising cost of living are real. The increase was unprecedented. While the rational side of me said this was inevitable, I couldn't help but wonder what the following months would be like.

Producing SJECHO would definitely be costlier considering the fact that the cost of paper we print on (newsprint) had already sky-rocketed.

A drive out to the local mamak shop for many, could mean burning more expensive fuel. Giving up the car for a motorcycle might provide some relief but what about the other necessary things that I would need the car for, like sending SJECHO around to the community pick-up points?

Surely, I am not the only person facing this. Everyone is in one way or another affected.

Even charitable organisations are feeling the pinch with less donations in cash and in kind coming in. They must surely be worried. But do they have to? Malaysians have been known to be very charitable in times of disasters and in reaching out to help those in need. We have all donated to earthquakes, tsunamis and floods within and outside our country. Should we stop digging deeper into our pockets for our fellow Malaysians? Let's tighten our belts a little more to spare some funds for those who are less fortunate than us and help bring a smile back to them.

Even before the fuel hike, crime rates in Subang Jaya had taken a swing upwards. Now with higher cost of living, are we to expect more desperate attempts to commit crime to make ends meet?

Noting that the police force is short-handed in combating crime, I believe several measures need to be taken to allow residents to take measures to protect themselves and their property.

One of the first things the soon-to-be appointed councilors (by the way, where are they?) for the Subang Jaya Municipal Council should look at together with Subang Jaya State Assemblyman Hannah Yeoh is how to clear the air about gated and guarded communities.

This matter has been lingering in limbo for too long. What is wrong with putting up fences around areas, especially if residents in that particular area are willing to support and pay for it?

Yes, fencing up may make it look like we are living in a kandang kerbau (buffalo pen), as one senior official once said to me, but if it helps keep the burglars out, why not? Sometimes, in order to keep the tiger away from its prey, it's best to erect a fence.

Folks in a Felda scheme in Trengganu managed to keep tigers away from their cattle by merely building paddocks where the cattle would be safe at night. So, why can't it work here?

Obviously with any good plan, there's always a loophole. Residents in Wangsa Baiduri have a gated and guarded community and yet they had six break-ins within three weeks.

So, what does it all boil down to? PEOPLE. We make the difference.

Let's all sit down and sip our more expensive coffee or tea and ask....what can we do?