The death of eighteen-year old Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC) student Lee Kean Yip, fatal victim of a roadside robbery, must not be in vain and should spur the authorities to step up their fight against the rising crime rate.

For a start, the police should adopt a three-point plan involving greater police visibility, an increase in police personnel at the front line and the setting up of a National Policing Plan.

Outlining these initiatives, Opposition Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang in a statement today said the time had come for political resolve to roll back the rising crime rate in urban areas.

He was commenting in wake of the shocking robbery-cum-murder last Saturday of Lee in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, which was followed five minutes later by the robbery of another TARC student, 23-year-old Phang Kar Wei.

Lee was slashed to death by two robbers on a motorcycle as he was walking back to his hostel after having dinner with a friend while Phang was slashed and robbed in another part of Setapak.

Despite efforts by government officials to deflect criticisms, an ensuing dialogue after Lee's memorial service yesterday saw many students and local residents voicing dissatisfaction with the level of police presence and their accessibility in Setapak.

"There must be the political resolve to ensure greater police visibility in the streets and public places to roll back the crime wave in general and snatch theft incidence in particular," said Lim.

Specific targets

Explaining his proposal, Lim said the most elementary step in fighting crime and reassuring people of their safety was to increase police visibility and availability as uniformed men working the streets and maintaining the peace 'are the core of policing'.

Secondly, according to Lim, only seven percent, or 6,000 of the current 90,000-strong police force are directly involved in fighting crime. The rest are involved only indirectly in such work besides performing clerical and other desk jobs.

"This (deployment of front line personnel) should be immediately raised to 20 percent with the target being at least 30 percent of the police force fighting crime (directly)," he said.

Lim also said a National Policing Plan - complemented by a local policing plan for every police district - should be formulated, implemented and monitored.

The plans, Lim said further, should set specific targets and time-frames for the reduction of particular crimes in various localities.

'Black areas', where crimes were rampant, should be identified and efforts taken to turn them into 'white areas', he said.

At every step of the way, Lim added, national and local plans should be done in consultation with the public and their participation sought.

"No police authority in the world can provide effective and efficient world-class policing service without full cooperation from the public," said Lim.