Malaysians feel safer, study finds

SHAH ALAM: A study by Pemandu Associates (PA) shows that Malaysians are beginning to feel safer from crime.

Data collected by the independent private management consultancy showed that Malaysians scored much lower than the targeted 54.9% on the Perception of Crime Index (PCI) survey in 2017.

PA senior vice-president Abdul Mutalib Ishak said the survey was done in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor, with all four states surpassing the target score.

"Kuala Lumpur is at 42%, Selangor 37%, Penang 33% and Johor 39%.

"This is significantly lower than the 61% score when we conducted the pilot survey in 2016," he said during a presentation of the study to Selangor police officers at the state police headquarters on Tuesday (Feb 13).

Abdul Mutalib said the survey was conducted among resident associations, Rukun Tetangga, businesses and schools.

"In Selangor alone, we surveyed almost 100,000 people and gauged their perception of crime based on social media, their surroundings, police reaction times and interactions with police.

"Those surveyed in Selangor showed that 81% were satisfied with the overall police service in their area and that more than half (54%) were not afraid to go out at night," he said.

He added that while there was always room for improvement, the figures show that police and the Government are beginning to win the fight to lower the public perception of high crime rates despite the decreasing crime index.

Abdul Mutalib said the PCI will be extended to seven states in 2018.