KUALA LUMPUR: The feeling of being unsafe is still prevalent among the general public despite a significant drop in the country's crime index, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says.
He said crime index has dropped 47 per cent over the last six years after the government had launched the Government Transformation Programme and introduced its Crime Reduction Initiatives.
"However, the general public still feel unsafe and are still sceptical of the data and initiatives done by the government.
"This is a very big challenge for the government as the data given is doubted by the public and this has a lot to do with their perception," he said in his foreword for the 'Addressing perception on safety and security' forum at Hotel Istana today.
He said both government and the public were seeing it from a different perspective and that Malaysians should not only be safe but need to feel safe at the same time.
Given the complexity and emerging threats of crime, he said the government remained fully committed and had taken concrete steps in various areas such as institutional capacity-building and training of enforcement agencies.
"When the government started the National Key Result Areas on Reducing Crime initiative, the key performance index were focused on high-risk areas and areas with high crime index reported.
"Moving forward, the focus now is now shifted to address prevention of crime and community engagement," he added.
Also present were Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Alwi Ibrahim, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali.