KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein announced the beginning of police efforts to enhance their training for security guards at shopping malls and car parks across the country as sexual violence against women continues to be reported. The minister said the new training program will see a focus on shopping areas, where a majority of recent attacks against women have occurred. Hussein said the new training curriculum would be completed “as soon as possible” in order to better maintain preparedness for the country's 25,000 security guards at 330 shopping malls across Malaysia. “It is not an issue of whether the crime rate is higher or not. What is important is that the public feels safe," he said at a press conference after a meeting to establish new targets for the second leg of the National Key Results Area (NKRA) on crime. Malaysia's women's rights organizations are hopeful that a proposal to put more security patrols at shopping mall car parks across the country will help end the recent spate of assaults. However, they have raised a number of concerns over the move, asking the government to increase its efforts to protect women's safety across Malaysia. National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO) Deputy President Lim Bee Kau said the Rela members assigned to do the job “must be trained to respond to emergencies." A number of attacks reportedly occurred under the watch of security personnel who stood by and did not intervene. Women's Aid Organization Executive Director Ivy Josiah told reporters that there was a need for long-term measures to create a safe environment for all Malaysians. “Do we have enough Rela personnel to be posted at every mall in the country?" she asked. Sisters in Islam Program Manager for Advocacy, Legal Services and Public Education Suri Kempe was quoted by AsiaOne.com saying that “while the idea of additional security in shopping malls was welcomed, there must be clarity with regards to Rela's role and responsibility when assigned to patrol shopping mall car parks."
