The Cult of Violence....

For more than fifty years after Independence and with the exception of the May13th incident, Malaysia had enjoyed peace and stability. Relatively speaking that is for intermittent criminal activities take place in all societies, however stable and peaceful. Malaysia also had its fill of atrocities and violence during the Japanese and Koumintang regime. After Independence even a nightclub or a street murder was a rare and disturbing news.a look of fear

But today, things seem to change. Other than the rampant drug related scourge, reports on serious crimes like infanticide, murder and rape of even children, street murder, abduction and extortion, vicious gang-fights and gruesome killings can be read in the Papers almost every day. Police statistics of about 4000 serious crimes a year is an abject underestimate since many go unreported.The frequency of bloody crimes are only matched by gruesome deaths on the road due to motor accidents. There could be as many as five fatal accidents on the road every in Malaysia but the number of serious crimes committed could triple that number.terror and destruction

The number game is one thing but the gruesomeness of the crime is more disturbing. You can be pumped off with hot lead at a road junction where you've too stop your car, be gunned down while eating at a stall, opening the gate to drive home, or while shopping. A rape victim could be slashed and dismembered, put in plastic bag and left by the roadside. Underage girls could be abducted, gang raped, murdered and dumped into the drain or river. It's clear that the cult of violence has penetrated into our culture, rthe culture of hospitality, warm smiles and and tolerance which Malaysians were famous for at one time.when terror strikes

Of course our Police force is as competent as any in the developed world and solving more that 40% of the serious crimes reported each year. Percentage can be manipulated any way you want and does not tell much.The traffic police is doing better by issuing millions of summons each year for traffic violations and collecting millions (or is it billions now) of ringgit in fines. Both the criminal investigation and traffic branches of the police force are being rapidly expanded to cope with the rise of cars and crimes on the road.

But the cult of violence is something more than just the intermittent crimes that are on the increase. It indicates a loss of the human sense of value towards human life, a rise in sadistic tendencies and a thirst for personal revenge, and the unlimited destructive forces that monetary gains can induce. People can kill for money or personal satisfaction and seemingly enjoy the torture involved in the process. Allowing the the maniacs to hide behind their mental dysfunction, the cold blooded murderers seem to enjoy what they are doing, taking pride in the number of victims they chalked.Whether that has to do with the increase in their bank account is something the police should investigate. Killing for money should be the first order of the day for the police to stop. It should take precedence over the crime of passion since the former is more rampant, though the latter should not be considered lower in terms of gravity.

The cult of violence must be stopped before it spread any further and destroy society's sense of value on human lives. To me even drug related offenses can be given a lower priority since those involved already know the consequence. But to allow the senseless murdering of people on the street for whatever reasons to go unchecked, and not putting the perpetrators to the gallows, is inviting the cult to spread like a cancerous growth in the Malaysian society, erstwhile known for its warmness and hospitality.