KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 — Somali pirates capturing two oil vessels belonging to national shipping corporation MISC Bhd in the Gulf of Eden in August caused a national outrage.
Sixty-five Malaysians were among 80 crewmen held hostage by the Somalian pirates.
The shipping lane spelt danger. Somalian pirates began calling the shots as they hijacked several ships. Holding ships for multi-million ringgit ransom, they mocked the world that they were masters of treachery in the high seas.
The first pirate attack involved the palm oil-laden MT Bunga Melati 2 which was hijacked on Aug 19, while enroute with 29 Malaysian and 10 Filipino crewmen from Damai, Sumatra in Indonesia to Rotterdam, Holland.
Ten days later, MT Bunga Melati 5 with 41 crewmen comprising 36 Malaysians and the rest Filipino crewmen, became the next easy target of the pirates.
The vessel was carrying petrochemical materials from Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, to a Singapore port.
Each day, the crew’s families waited anxiously, more so after a Filipino crewman died after being hit by a stray bullet from a Somali pirate.
Not many knew what was negotiated between MISC and the pirates but various efforts were mobilised to ensure the safety of the crewmen.
Two Royal Malaysian Navy ships, namely KD Lekiu and KD Sri Inderapura, and patrol vessel KD Pahang were despatched to the Gulf of Eden, supported by the Paskal elite squad, Special Mobilisation Group.
Following a series of telephone negotiations — three days before Muslims in Malaysia celebrated Aidilfitri — Bunga Melati 5 was released. This was followed by Bunga Melati 2, two days later.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi described the release of the two vessels as a gift, in conjunction with the arrival of Syawal.
The year 2008 also saw the government taking several measures to wipe out crime and strengthen the police force, following an increase in the crime index.
Abdullah ordered, among others, the installation of closed-circuit cameras in public areas and premises and the opening of more police stations.
In line with the proposal, 107 police stations and 55 community beat bases were opened, involving four contingents namely Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor.
However, police efficiency was tested when four armed robbers made off with RM3.5 million belonging to a money-changer at the country’s main gateway, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on April 9.
The incident in front of the airport's departure hall shocked passers-by when the robbers fired several shots, leaving six people wounded, including a policeman from the Putrajaya police headquarters.
Following the incident, several quarters began questioning the level of security at national airports, forcing several remedial measures to be taken.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan took preliminary steps by setting up a special team to deal with security threats at KLIA by assigning a special battalion comprising 141 members of the General Operations Force before it was expanded to three other airports, namely in Penang, Sabah and Sarawak.
The year also saw automated teller machine (ATM) heists, armed robberies at homes, murders and drug trafficking.
Robbers used tractors, firecrackers and even gas tanks to cart away or break open ATMs. These were among the challenges faced by the police to deal with the current trend of violent crimes.
Statistics from January to October this year showed the crime index continued to increase, namely 177,141 cases as compared to 171,454 cases last year. Armed gang robberies were higher at 17,834 cases, as compared to 5,687 last year.
Following this, the police also studied the impact of the oil price increase and global economic crisis as the cause of crime index increase this year.
Meanwhile, international syndicates deploying local women as drug couriers also became a thorn on the side of the police. There was an increase in the arrest of local women abroad.
In the first three months of 2008, 18 local women were held on suspicion of being drug mules. — Bernama
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