Is Johor Bahru Now the City of No-Crime?

It’s been around 4 whole months since I posted anything in the Johor Crimes category.

Ever since the police force was greatly beefed up/ back in June 2007 in response to the spree of outrageous gang rapes, there seems to have been a very noticeable drop in the crimes reporte in the news.

(Then again, I only usually scan through The Star’s headlines for local updates.)

Does this mean that Johor is no longer a den for fearless criminals ?

Hardly. Just the other day, a friend we know was headed into Singapore. She was holding her purse closely, and had a notebook computer strapped onto her shoulder.

Around the KTM (train) station next to the Malaysian Customs, a motorcyclist rode by and tried to snatch her notebook. She shouted and held on for a long time… Yet no one came to her aid. They just stared. The attempting thief gave up solely due to her tenacity.

And this happened IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, at around 2-3 pm! Just like the old days (i.e. last year), where before the sun even sets, you can be slashed first and robbed later right outside your own house.

This isn’t to say that the police presence hasn’t been felt. Seeing police cars doing the rounds and road-checks everywhere (with submachine guns clearly displayed) certainly has had an effect on the would-be robber.

But I suspect, and have long suspected, that the police quietly asked the media not to highlight crimes that happen in JB. This makes sense in a way, as it gives a sense of total police control of the area to potential miscreants.

But as before, the police can’t be everywhere at once. Thus, crime still lurks in JB, hidden beneath the surface, just waiting to break out and terrorize the populace again…

And it is only strict law enforcement that keeps them in check.

PS. Also, it’s common knowledge that the Customs checkpoint in Johor Bahru is super-ultra lax in checking the passports of people coming into Malaysia from Singapore (via the Causeway).
The rationale for this, I think, is that if someone can make it past the highly stringent Singapore customs and get into Singapore, then they’ve already proven themselves legit.

But what if a foreign national just visits Singapore a day or two, then comes into Johor without being checked? Can he not end up staying in Johor and Malaysia as long as he pleases, since there is no record of him having entered the country? What measures are there to prevent such a thing happening, even if they aren’t at all enforced?

Tags: JB, Johor Bahru, johor crime, malaysia crime