P Sundramoorthy, an associate professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia, said it was important for firearms users to ensure that their weapons were kept in places only they could access.
“Handguns, shotguns and rifles are not items you can simply hide under your bed or in your cupboard or other places that are easily accessible,” he told FMT.
He said police should conduct regular checks on gun users to ensure that they were abiding by the safekeeping rules.
He alleged that gun owners in rural areas were especially negligent.
“The sense of proper safeguarding of firearms has not been cultivated in rural people’s mindset,” he said.
His comments came in the wake of an incident on Monday in which a 49-year-old Rela member was shot dead at his house in Machang, Kelantan, by his 20-year-old nephew, who is believed to be mentally unsound.
Rosmadi Abd Aziz, who sustained a gunshot wound in the abdomen, died on his way to a clinic in Temangan.
Machang police chief Dzulkifli Ab Ghani said police had seized a Harrington Richardson shotgun, which was loaded with a cartridge, from the nephew.
The nephew tested positive for methamphetamine.
Dzulkifli said initial investigations revealed that the nephew broke into Rosmadi’s house through the rear entrance and took the gun from a bedroom.
“When the victim and his friend, who had been repairing a water pipe in front of the house, went back into the house, the suspect suddenly appeared and shot the victim,” Dzulkifli added.
Rosmadi’s friend sustained injuries on his right arm from pellets fired from the shotgun.
Sundramoorthy also expressed his concern over the possibility of firearms falling into the hands of terrorist sympathisers due to the negligence of owners.
Security consultant Khen Han Ming said the incident in Kelantan should serve as a reminder to gun users to take proper care of their weapons at home.
Ideally, he said, gun users should store their firearms inside a gun safe after emptying the bullet chambers.