MCPF special project director Datuk Seri Johny Ch'ng Ewe Gee.
PETALING JAYA: Bullying incidents and gangsterism in schools are among the key issues to be addressed by the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation’s (MCPF) crime prevention club in conjunction with its 25th anniversary this year, says club chairman Datuk Seri Johny Ch’ng Ewe Gee.
He added other issues to be highlighted during its nationwide roadshows include efforts to increase awareness on cheating and scam cases through phone and online platforms, in addition to human trafficking activities.
“Due to many people falling prey to such cases, we want to educate students and youths to be wary of such incidents from a young age. With greater awareness and knowledge, we hope they can help to disseminate information widely to curb these incidents,” he said when contacted.
In a recent interview with The Star, Commissioner Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said the financial damage from commercial crime cases, including online scams, amounted to RM1.2bil from Jan 1 to July 1 this year alone.
Comm Ramli, who heads the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID), added that a total of 15,500 commercial crime cases were recorded so far, up 34% compared to the 11,546 cases for the same period last year.
“The total cases this year are equivalent to 65 cases daily,” he said.
Ch’ng, who is also MCPF national exco member and former Pahang MCPF chairman, said the organisation launched a crime prevention programme in Segamat, which received strong support from the Johor government, police and the state Education Department.
“We target selected secondary schools in Johor as the first state to kickstart the campaign in the southern zone. We will then move to the northern region involving four states – Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak,” he said, adding that the programme would be launched in Balik Pulau, Penang, on Sept 25.Home Minister and MCPF national chairman Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail will be invited as the guest of honour.
Ch’ng said the last leg would be held in Sarawak which is expected to be graced by Sarawak Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
“Tun (Wan Junaidi) has served in the police force in his early days and can be a good role model to the students and youths.
“Crime experts and police officers will be invited to give crime prevention talks to some 1,000 students in one of the top secondary schools in Sarawak,” he said.
Ch’ng said MCPF would be inviting parent-teacher associations to join the club’s activities and educational programmes that will be held after schooling hours. He said plans were also in the pipeline to get selected local universities to adopt secondary school students and arrange for them to stay in the dormitories over the weekend to experience university life. “This will help to spur and motivate them to study hard and not be led astray by unhealthy elements,” he said.
Ch’ng added that a coffee table book to mark the club’s silver jubilee would also be published and distributed to all schools which had set up a crime prevention club.
