Blaming the violence on the more than 20 illegal gangs operating in Malaysia, former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Musa Hassan said these gangs are also actively recruiting new members, Berita Harian reported today.
“The gang-related crimes stem from vice activities operated by these illegal gangs.
“They are vying for territorial control and this has lead to the shootings and attacks we have been seeing in recent months,” Musa told the daily, adding that police must be more serious in taking on the gangs, by going after the gang leaders.
“We must also do something to prevent more youths from joining these gangs,” he added.
The former IGP said most Malaysians were also afraid of making reports against gangs fearing that they would become targets, despite there being laws to protect informants and the general public in such cases.
Musa was the IGP from September 2006 until September 2010.
The death toll of those murdered by armed assailants has been on the rise in the past couple of months.
According to police, most of these cases involved gang rivalries.
On Wednesday, a man in a Honda Accord was shot dead in broad daylight.
The driver had stopped at a traffic light junction near Jalan Genting Klang. Police said 18 shots were fired by four men on two motorcycles.