I make this statement so that all are aware at the state of policing and safety in Kuala Lumpur… there is no one to help you except faith in God, calmness and thinking carefully and rationally.
Yesterday (Saturday) the 25th June 2011, my sister, and my cousins went out for dinner. Unfortunately, after dinner, my cousin’s car broke down in Subang in front of my sister’s house. As the car could only be attended to the following day, my, my nephew decided to give my cousins a ride home to Taman Tasik Titiwangsa.
By the time we left Subang Jaya it was about 11.45pm. My sister and I decided to accompany my nephew to leave my cousins at home. We watched them go into their home, waved goodbye and made our way back home via Jalan Titiwangsa. It was about 12.15am (26 June 2011) and the beginning of our traumatic experience.
My nephew in the driver’s seat, I next to him in the passenger seat and my sister seated at the back seat directly behind the driver.
We reached the first traffic light – the crossroad between Jalan Kuantan and Jalan Tasik Titiwangsa - the cars in front drove off but we stopped as the lights turned red. We were talking and we noticed that there were many motorcyclists’ waiting on either side (on Jalan Kuantan). The lights changed green and we proceeded to drive slowly ahead as the motorcyclists also went in the same direction; ours was the only car at that stretch.
The motorcyclists’ were circling our car, my sister instinctively pressed the central locking as she was seated directly behind the driver. They (the motorcyclists) were crisscrossing and then suddenly two motorcyclists’ came on either side of our car – at drivers and my side – tapped on the window (we were still moving slowly) and told us to stop. We heard them say they were police and they ordered us to stop immediately.
I just shook my head and said “NO”, my nephew immediately knew they were not police, he too said “NO” and we continued to drive very slowly taking care not to knock them. Both the men were Malay, in plainclothes, the one at driver’s window was clean shaven whereas the one on my side had a faint (scanty) mustache.
Each of them then flashed some card – it looked like a driving license or identity card of some sort – at us and again asked us to stop in a threatening manner gesturing and banging the window, continuously claiming they were the police.
All their talking was in Malay – we both continued to say “NO”, shaking our heads and drove on ahead slowly.
By this time the motorcyclist at the driver’s side rode off and parked his motorcycle across the road behind some cars which were waiting at the traffic lights near the petrol station (I cannot be sure but I think there were about 2 cards at the traffic lights), thereby blocking our path towards the traffic light.
Mr. Scanty mustache the came to my side and told us to stop, I shook my head and kept on saying “No”, both my nephew and I continuously kept on saying this while shaking our heads. He then gestured to me, lifted his tea-shirt and I saw a pistol tucked in the waistband of his trousers. My sister froze at the sight of the gun, we calmed her and continued saying “No”.
We could not turn as we had reached the part where the road divider was in place, my nephew then started to reverse, we decided to try and go back to my cousin’s place.
By this time Mr. Scanty mustache moved to the driver’s side and another motorcyclist appeared alongside as if “enquiring” what the problem was.
Mr. Mustache told the other guy that he was the police and that we refused to stop. Just then I took out the phone and called my cousin telling her we were being harassed by armed men and that I was going to sms her the motorcycle number.
While I was on the phone my nephew lowered the window about an inch and told Mr Mustache and his friend that they were not police and that he was going straight to the police station and they could follow us there if they chose to do so – it must have been then that they saw me talking on the phone and heard me saying I was going to message the vehicle number.
Before I could even look and take the number they gestured to one another and ALL THREE fled in the direction of Jalan Kuantan back to the lake. We also noticed that there was another car coming up behind us.
Unfortunately we were unable to take down any of the motorbike numbers.
We did not go to the police either and drove straight home after calling my cousin again (at about 12.40 am, 26 Jun 2011) to tell her that the motorcyclists’ had vanished. We decided not to lodge a police report simply because of the following:
1. We were in a residential area with these people who claimed to be police – with the recent happenings - they may have very well been the police or the infamous RELA
2. We have no confidence in the police as we were unsure whether the motorcyclists had ‘connections’ with the police,
3. The police is reputed to racially profile motorists/pedestrians etc and
4. My sister who just turned 60 is just recovering from lung infection and has high blood pressure, she, in fact all of us, were traumatized by the happenings.
I am writing this today, safe and sound because of the following
- our Christian faith that God will protect (this is irrelevant - Christians never had troubles in life??)
- we remained calm and cool
- we refused to pull over and continued to move despite being threatened,
- my call on the hand-phone to my cousin and
- the car which later came behind us.
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I urge ALL Malaysians, especially those who live in the urban areas of Selangor such as Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya and in our so called ‘safe’ capital Kuala Lumpur especially at Taman Titiwangsa and the surrounding areas to be extra vigilant, be calm, do not stop, when confronted by these intimidating cowards who only act in ‘herds’.
Do not stop to these motorcycle/vehicle vagabonds who claim to be police especially if you are women (young or old) and/or young male adults.
Please make sure you pass this email round so our citizens have their wits around them and keep themselves safe, as the Police, Rela, Politicians and the Government have time and time again failed to keep us ordinary citizens safe.
Instead of spending millions on tourism, mega projects, campaigning , nuclear energy, space travel, election rigging why don’t you spend resources wisely so that the police, army etc are independent apolitical, professional and diligent.
Let us be mindful and spend time and resources on education and safety and the basic human rights of every Malaysian citizen to feel safe in his/her town, district and most of all home
Thank you and God Bless
Bridget D’cruz
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