KEYNOTE ADDRESS at THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LAW, ORDER & CRIMINAL JUSTICE 2014

by

YBHG. DATO' SRI MOHAMAD KHALID BIN HJ SHARIFF

SECRETARY GENERAL

MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

Salutations

YBhg. Tan Sri Dato' Seri Utama Dr. Rais bin Yatim,

Penasihat Kerajaan Hal Ehwal Sosial Dan Budaya dan

Presiden Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia,

Yang dihormati Tan Sri Dato' Sri Khalid Abu Bakar,

Ketua Polis Negara,

juga merupakan Ahli Majlis Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia,

YBhg. Professor Dato' Sri Dr. Zaleha Kamaruddin,

Rektor Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia,

YBrs. Prof. Dr. Hunud Abia Kadouf,

Dekan, Kulliyyah Undang-Undang Ahmad Ibrahim,

Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia,

Yang Arif Hakim-Hakim Mahkamah Tinggi,

Ketua-Ketua Jabatan/Agensi dan Pegawai-pegawai Kanan dan

wakil-wakil Jabatan/Agensi di bawah Kementerian Dalam Negeri,

Ahli Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Universiti
Dekan-dekan dari pelbagai Kulliyyah

Para Pensyarah dan Pembentang Kertas Kerja,

Para Peserta Persidangan serta pihak media

Hadirin dan hadirat yang dihormati sekalian.

ASSALAMUALAIKUM - WARAHMATULLAH - WABARAKATUH

SALAM SEJAHTERA DAN SALAM 1 MALAYSIA,

Terlebih dahulu, saya ingin merakamkan mohon maaf YBhg. Dato' Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Menteri Dalam Negeri kerana tidak dapat bersama-sama kita dalam persidangan ini disebabkan keperluan YB MDN hadir tugas yang sangat penting di luar negara. Walaupun begitu, YB MDN telah memberi mandaat kepada saya untuk membacakan teks ucapan beliau:

Alhamdulillah, dengan izin Allah S.W.T., kita diberi peluang untuk bertemu untuk suatu program yang saya kira amat penting kerana ianya mengumpulkan ahli-ahli bijak pandai dari sembilan buah negara bagi membincangkan tajuk yang amat penting bagi kita semua, iaitu mengenai Undang-undang, Keamanan dan Keadilan Jenayah.
Tuan-tuan dan Puan yang di hormati sekalian,

Saya amat berbesar hati dengan jemputan pada pagi ini kerana saya merasakan bahawa program seperti ini akan memberikan peluang kepada bukan sahaja percambahan ilmu, tetapi turut menggalakkan masyarakat secara amnya berfikir tentang betapa pentingnya keamanan dan ketertiban umum. Tanpa keamanan dan ketertiban umum, sesebuah negara tidak akan dapat maju. Rakyat tidak akan dapat hidup dengan tenteram dan ini akan memberi impak yang besar kepada kebolehan mereka untuk mencari rezeki serta memajukan diri. Jika ini berlaku, ianya secara langsung melibatkan keupayaan sesebuah negara untuk maju kehadapan, bukan sahaja dari segi ekonomi tetapi juga dari segi kemajuan modal insan serta moral sesuatu negara bangsa.

Maka, itulah sebabnya Kerajaan Malaysia, sentiasa memastikan kebajikan rakyat dijaga, bukan hanya dengan membangunkan prasarana yang hebat dan bertaraf antarabangsa, tetapi melalui Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) dan agensi-agensinya seperti Polis Diraja Malaysia, khasnya, amat menitik beratkan isu keamanan dan kestabilan negara. Malah, fungsi utama Kementerian Dalam Negeri adalah bagi memelihara, menjaga dan meningkatkan keselamatan dalam negara serta memastikan ketertiban umum jauh dari segala jenis ancaman. Bagi menghormati tetamu-tetamu kita dari luar negara, saya akan meneruskan ucapan saya di dalam bahasa Inggeris. Dengan izin:

Ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great, pleasure to be with all of you here at this International Conference on Law, Order and Criminal Justice 2014 at this beautiful Campus, i.e. the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). The atmosphere here indeed brings peace and serenity to the heart and it is only appropriate that a conference on law and order to be held here. This conference is indeed an important event, for this is not an ordinary conference. Normally, conferences are meant mainly for academics, but today, we have a conference that brings together not only academics from various parts of the world, but also key leaders such as the Inspector General of Police Malaysia, Yang Di Hormati Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar as well as the Chief Justice of Malaysia, Yang Amat Arif, Tun Arifin bin Zakaria. This Conference itself is a great outcome of collaboration between the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws (AIKOL), IIUM; Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA); Malaysian Judiciary and National Council of Professors. The Ministry of Home Affairs is represented by the Institute of Public Security Malaysia (IPSOM) and The Royal Malaysia Police (RMP).
Collaborations among the Government agencies are needed to enable thorough reflection and discussion on better peace, prosperity and public order in today's ever challenging world. Indeed, the eradication of crime in society is a challenge that is faced by the Government. To be able to do so, the Government must work hand in hand with not only its agencies but also the public at large. As such, I feel I must congratulate the organisers, namely International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) and the National Council for Professors as well as all the collaborating Government agencies such as IPSOM, Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) and Malaysian Judiciary for organising this International Conference. I sincerely hope that this collaboration among these agencies will continue and organize events of this nature, periodically.

The Government of Malaysia, particularly the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Royal Malaysian Police are truly committed not only in preserving peace and public order but also to maintain and enhance the security of the country and protect the community from various threats. The Government always supports initiatives to improve our laws and policies for the continuous development of a safe and peaceful country. The Home Ministry particularly aims to administer internal security matters to ensure peace and well-being of the rakyat. It is imperative that the citizens feel safe and secure in their homes, while carrying out their daily activities as well as when attending to their responsibilities at the work place. Reducing crime is a vital part of Malaysia's plans to become a fully developed country. Crime and the fear of crime impact peoples quality of life and often lead to devastating effects. It may cost substantial economic lost and even loss of lives.

Crime impacts all Malaysians, irrespective of age, education level, gender, race, religion or wealth. In polls, the rakyat consistently identify crime as one of the top two issues that concern them. In light of the instances of crime and the importance to the rakyat of reducing crime, the Government selected reduction of crime as one of the seven NKRAs.

We admit that with our limited financial resources, the Government can no longer rely only on the traditional role of the police, where they are expected to single handily be responsible for crime reduction. True, the police still has a vital role to play, the Government realises that a new approach is necessary. This has resulted in the active involvement of multiple agencies across the criminal justice system and other parts of national and local government as well as the private sector.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We (the Government) are aware of the concern and doubts raised by many parties, regarding the status of Malaysia in year 2020. Let me enlighten you on some of the bold measures taken by the Government. On 28 Jan 2010, the Malaysian Prime Minister YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib B. Tun Hj Abdul Razak, has introduced the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) as an effort to achieve a quantum leap in making the country a developed and high-income nation as per its Vision 2020. Besides aspiring to be a developed country with no absolute poverty among Malaysians, we are duty bound to ensure that the development will lead Malaysia to become a happy nation. A happy nation in Malaysia is none other than to have peace and security, as well as social inclusion among the Rakyat.

The GTP was designed to address 7 key areas concerning the people of the country, with the primary aim of transforming the Government into a Rakyat-centred institution to bring improvements to the socio-economic status of Malaysians. These are known as the National Key Results Areas or NKRAs. The NKRAs were formulated from months of surveys, consultations, and evaluations of the Rakyat's expectations of the Government.
The 7 NKRAs are the responsibilities of the relevant Ministries and are headed by the Ministers themselves. The Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) in the Prime Minister's Department is responsible to oversee and monitor the progress of each Ministry. This shows how serious the Government is in taking care of the welfare of the rakyat.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Ministry of Home Affairs is therefore working closely with the Attorney General's Chambers, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, in charge of Law, Ministry of Women, Family & Community, Ministry of Education, as well as twenty three (23) other agencies and GLCs in order to make this plan work. But this is not enough, the Government realises the need to involve the rakyat in this exercise. Hence, we are also engaging in more community participation in order to ensure that the success of this exercise. As proof of the concerted effort taken by the Government, the Government has started with public awareness campaigns on crime prevention methods amongst the rakyat. Aside from that the police increased their presence and visibility in hot spots. There have also been improvements made in the working relationship between the police and prosecution. As for the Courts, they have improved the speed and throughput of cases in order to ensure justice. And once the accused is found guilty, the Prison's Department has refined their in-prison rehabilitation programmes to reduce likelihood of repeat offences. The Prison Department also improves supervision and resettlement post-release programme as well as creating links to jobs that would allow them to be accepted back into the society. The Prison Department recorded a recidivist rate of 7.6% in 2013, which is below the 10.0% target set by the Ministry of Home Affairs. I hope that we are able to achieve similar rate or may be reduced further in years to come. During my recent working trip to Australia, it was revealed that their recidivist rate is 30%.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At this juncture, I must commend the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws through its Harun M. Hashim Law Centre for playing their role in the training of our police and prison officers. Through the LL.B course and Diploma in Law and Correctional Studies, it is hoped that our officers are better trained and well equipped in handling future challenges and further improve their services to the rakyat. It is hoped that the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Institute of Public Security Malaysia, MOHA and the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, IIUM will also lead to a fruitful research opportunities that will enable both institutions to carry out various research projects that will improve public security and benefit the rakyat as a whole.

A society which feels safe will be a confident and thriving society. This will directly affect the stability of the country and increase the economic opportunities of the rakyat. It is the main contributing factor to a booming economy which will directly assist in the Government's aim of becoming a developed high income country by the year 2020.

In fact, Malaysia's stability is the main reason for the increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country as well as an influx of foreign workers. Although this benefits the country to a certain extent, it also poses a great challenge to the Government. Problems relating to the influx of foreign workers include the issue of illegal immigrants, the rise in crimes such as burglary, sexual crimes, drug trafficking, money laundering and even human trafficking. These challenges are not easily solved and it would be interesting to see the discussions on these issues during this conference as it would help shed light on the strategies and recommendations to the Government. However, until 17 November 2014 the Immigration Department has conducted 4893 operations nationwide and arrested 26,785 Illegal Immigrants or PATI (Pendatang Asing Tanpa Izin) and 451 employers. This operation by Department of Immigration will be carried out constantly and consistently in order to flush out illegal immigrants.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The nation was shocked and appalled by the attacks on our sovereignty be it the attack in Sabah followed by unexpected tragedies of MH370 and more recently the MH17 incidences. The Government is trying its best to get at the root causes of these terrible incidences and we are working hard at finding and bringing the perpetrators to justice. In response to these incidences, the Government has improved the security level for the country. For example in Sabah, on 25 March 2013, Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZONE) was established in order to enhance the security and safety level of the Eastern Sabah water territory which involves 10 districts in Sabah. The districts are Kudat, Kota Marudu, Pitas, Beluran, Sandakan, Semporna, Tawau, Lahad Datu, Kunak and Kinabatangan.

As we know, the theme of the Conference is "Spirit, Form and Challenges". In this regard, I believe the Conference will also be addressing pertinent issues relating to Cyber Crimes as well as other issues related to the use of technology in assisting the recovery of evidences and its use in Courts.
The Government also realises that the internet is a perfect mechanism for fraud, money laundering, piracy and even recruiting terrorists. On 16 October 2014, police have arrested 14 suspected militants and one of them owned a Facebook account which was used to promote Islamic State (IS) and recruit militants. An indepth of understanding is needed on the true notion of an Islamic State and the true conception of Jihad in this modern world. I am sure that there are papers will be presented in these areas for the benefits of the participants for greater understanding.

Ladies and Gentleman,

Clearly, it is about time that a conference such as this, is organized to gather the thinkers, the protectors, the administrators and the law makers to sit together to discuss and identify existing problems relating to the adequacies of existing laws and the improvements that need to be made in order to help achieve order and peace in society in this challenging world of globalization.

It is my deepest hope that the issues discuss throughout these two days Conference will be able to benefit the rakyat and the Ministry welcomes any resolutions from the Conference. This will benefit the country as a whole, Insya-Allah.

Thank you again for your kind invitation and I sincerely wish that this will be a fruitful Conference.

WABILLAHI TAUFIK WAL HIDAYAH, WASSALAMUALAIKUM WARAHMATULLAHI WABARAKATUH.