MUCH has been said and reported on the issue of illegal gates and road blocks across public roads in housing areas in Petaling Jaya.
No one can deny that the existence of a gated and guarded community has greatly complemented police efforts to keep crime at bay. However, I do agree that it should be controlled and monitored by the residents’ association of the area.
In Taman Mayang Jaya (SS26), Petaling Jaya where I stay, we are only able to have one shift of guards during the night and we have been crime-free with 24-hour patrols during the Chinese New Year.
Although 24-hour patrols cannot guarantee a crime-free area, no one can deny that there is a major drop in the crime rate.
The trouble is that most residents who complain are those who refuse to join the scheme for reasons best known to themselves.
Many such residents do not even mix with the neighbours and refuse to become members of the residents’ association.
Such people like to ride on the charity of others.
These residents keep complaining especially to the press but when the residents’ association holds meetings to discuss security issues in the area, you will never see their faces.
When the security scheme succeeds in deterring outsiders from committing crimes in the area, these same people will think that there is no crime in the area since they have not heard anything.
The other group who vehemently oppose such security schemes are the outsiders who are inconvenienced by the closure of roads which they use as access roads.
They have no regard for those who are living in the area and especially those who have been victims of crimes.
All they think of is using the roads to get to their destination.
Security comes at a price and inconvenience.
If the crime rate is very low and residents do not live in fear, no residents’ association will want to put up boom gates.
No resident will also want to pay for the security scheme if they do not have their own and their family’s security in mind.
In Taman Mayang Jaya, the boom gates at the smaller access roads are closed from 11pm to 6am with only one main access road opened.
This is to prevent robbers from coming in cars from other roads. If they have to use the main road, I am sure they will give it a second thought.
Perhaps residents’ associations in residential areas where most smaller or even main roads are barricaded with drums may have their own reasons for doing so.
They may need to re-look this by closing the main road only at night.
Residents who are not members of residents’ associations and do not even attend meetings will not know of the crimes that happen in their area.
No victim likes to go around telling the whole neighbourhood what happened to them.
Perhaps it is time residents’ associations highlight the cases that happen in their areas, citing only the road name but leaving out the victim’s name and house number.
A guarded community does help to reduce or even ensure an area is crime-free during the patrolling period.
To those who are strongly against this guarded community system, remember that crime exists and the next vicitim could very well be you or your family.
FA,
Petaling Jaya.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/2/23/focus/5720940&sec=focus
