The Home Ministry pointed out today one of the reasons the drop in the country's Global Peace Index (GPI) was due to frequent protest taking place in the country.
“Malaysia has dropped from 19th place in 2011 to 33rd in 2014 because of these protestors who were not satisfied with government policies,” the ministry said, in a written reply to Datuk Ahmad Hamzah (Jasin-BN)
Ahmad asked the ministry to state the government initiatives to improve the GPI ranking.
Some of the protests listed in the written reply were Demonstrasi Kita Lawan (Kita Lawan protest), Demonstrasi Gerakan Hapuskan Akta Hasutan (Anti Sedition-Act protest), Demonstrasi Menuntut Royalty Minyak di Kelantan (Kelantan’s oil royalty protest), Anti-Lynas protest and Perhimpunan Aman Mahasiswa.
The ministry also said the government was already taking proactive measures by enacting Peaceful Assembly Act 2014, Sedition Act (Amendment) 2015, Prevention of Crime Act (Amendment) 2015 and Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota).
“The Government has also introduced The Reducing Crime National Key Results Area (NKRA) to ensure national security continues to be at a very good level and under control,” replied the ministry.
This, the ministry said, was proven when the national crime index has been reduced by 12.6 per cent, exceeding their expectation of 5 per cent.
The GPI is the world's leading measure of national peacefulness, and it is based on various core principles including political stability crime rate, number of protest, domestic and international conflict.