Was in the seedier ends of Chow Kit recently to go to a bake supplies store, and as I walked down the lane flanked by ladyboys soliciting from the doorways, it suddenly occured to me that the small police station that used to be there is no longer. Instead, in its place, is a wonky looking bazaar-type thing, that proclaimed it was “Opening Soon!! Rental Lots Available!”. Aikkss? What happened to the mini-police-station thing?
Finally solved the mystery today, found this in the The Star…
Policemen beat a retreat
KUALA LUMPUR: A police beat base located in the Chow Kit area of downtown Kuala Lumpur has been shut down because the “presence of criminals could make it unsafe” for police officers. (Well! The presence of criminals makes it unsafe for the rest of us too but guess we can’t rely on the police?)
Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the beat base was located in a dirty area where police faced the possibility of being exposed to contagious diseases. (What diseases exactly?)
The presence of criminals also posed a threat to the safety of police officers. (No! Really?)
He said this in a written reply to Dr Lo’ Lo’ Mohamad Ghazali (PAS – Titiwangsa).
Dr Lo’ Lo’ had asked why the beat base along Jalan Haji Taib was closed considering that vice activities were high in the area.
She also wanted to know what kind of action had been taken by the police to curb vice activities in the Chow Kit area.
Syed Hamid said police were in the midst of finding a new location for the beat base.
In an immediate response, City Chief Police Officer Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Sabtu Osman said the beat base was not shut down but relocated to bigger premises near Jalan Raja Bot. (Funny, the CPO doesn’t seem to have briefed Syed Hamid that they have found a place…)
“We moved there to provide better service as we have increased our manpower and need more space,” he said.
Dr Lo’ Lo’s question was the 30th in the Order Paper and hence did not get a mention in the House during the daily one-hour Question Time.
However, Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli (PAS – Kuala Krai) managed to raise the matter when he interjected during Azmin Ali’s (PKR – Gombak) speech during the debate on Budget 2009.
Dr Mohd Hatta said that if the police themselves felt unsafe in a beat base, it would be even worse for the public.
“Maybe it would be better to put the beat base in the army barracks.”
Dr Mohd Hatta then managed to raise the issue again during his own debate on Budget 2009 saying that Syed Hamid’s response was irrational and hoped he would clarify his written answer as this was not the kind of police the people wanted.
“The police are there to make a place safe. If they themselves are scared and run away, how can we hope for others to want to be there?” he asked.
Dr Mohd Hatta said if the place was dirty, it was up to the police to organise gotong-royong activities to clean it up.
He added the only kind of contagious disease in the area was sexually transmitted, adding that getting infected was a matter of choice. (Can we then give the denizens of Chow Kit a choice in NOT getting infected by giving them condoms?)
I can understand Syed Hamid not getting it right but even Dr Hatta, a medical doctor, seems to be confused between a contagious disease and an infectious one.
According to the freedictionary.com, a contagious disease is defined as: A disease communicable by contact with a patient suffering from it, or with some secretion of, or object touched by, such a patient. Most such diseases have already been proved to be germ diseases, and their communicability depends on the transmission of the living germs. Many germ diseases are not contagious, some special method of transmission or inoculation of the germs being required.
On the other hand, an infectious disease is defined as any disease caused by the entrance, growth, and multiplication of microorganisms in the body; a germ disease. It may not be contagious.
I would guess that the disease most feared by the police in the Chow Kit area is HIV/AIDS which is an infectious disease, not a contagious one. You can’t get it just by hanging around people who have HIV.
Don’t forget boys and girls, one needs to exchange bodily fluids in order to catch these kinds of diseases – Jasmine.
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RantCushion 
My goodness. I can’t believe the police feel unsafe and arent protecting the citizens anymore! Thats terrible…. :O