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UN Profile - Malaysia------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.0. GENERAL BACKGROUND
The legal system in Malaysia is based on a set of written and unwritten laws.
Among the written are: the Federal Constitution together with the constitutions
of the 13 states comprising the Federation, legislations enacted by the
Parliament and State Assemblies, and delegated or subsidiary legislation made by
bodies under powers conferred on them by Acts of Parliament or State Assemblies.
The unwritten laws are comprised of the principles of English Common law
adapted to local circumstances, case law and local customary law; Muslim law is
also an important source of law applicable only to the Muslim population and
administered by a separate system of courts.
The judicial system
The Malaysian Constitution provides for the exercise of powers by the
Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. By virtue of Act 121 (1) of the
Federal Constitution judicial power in the Federation is vested on two High
Courts of Coordinate jurisdiction and status namely the High Court of Malaya and
the High Court of Borneo and the inferior courts. The Federal Court with its
principal registry in Kuala Lumpur is the Supreme Court in the country. The
head of the judiciary is the Lord President of the Federal Court and he
exercises direct supervision over all courts. In the hierarchy of courts the
lowest is the Penghulus Court. A Penghulu is a headman appointed by a state
government. The criminal jurisdiction of a Penghulus Court is limited to the
trial of offences of a minor nature which can be adequately punished by a fine
not exceeding $25.00. The subordinate courts in Malaysia include the Juvenile
Courts, Magistrates Courts and the Sessions Courts.
The courts can pronounce on the legality or otherwise of executive acts of
government. They can pronounce on the validity or otherwise of any law passed
by parliament and they can pronounce on the meaning of any provision of the
constitution.
Law enforcement
The nation's police force is headed by an Inspector General of Police, his
Deputy and four Directors of Divisions, viz: the Criminal Investigation
Department, The Special Branch, Security and Public Order, and Management. The
Inspector General of Police is responsible to the Minister of Home Affairs. The
police force performs the duties of preventing crime, protection of the general
welfare of the people, investigating and detecting crime, identifying and
apprehending offenders, and prosecuting criminals. The force also has to
perform the onerous task of jungle operations, tracking down undesirable
elements, investigating the smuggling of drugs, arms, and other contraband
items.
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The police and the prison service in the country have established a very close
working relationship. Such a relationship is clearly outlined in both the
Prison Ordinance of 1952 and the Police Act of 1967. These two laws establish
the powers and relative duties and responsibilities of the officers in the two
services. This clearly establishes the fact that not only are the functions
interchangeable, the authority and relative power vested in one can and is
exercised by the other.
Selected crimes reported
During the third survey period, selected crimes showed a gradual increasing
trend. Data in Table 1 highlight this trend. During 1980 to 1986 the number of
intentional homicides recorded by the police ranged between a low of 225 in 1982
and a high of 386 in 1986.
TABLE 1
Selected Crimes Reported and Rate Per 100 000
Population, 1980 to 1986
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Int. Homicides N 279 258 225 303 293 327 386
R 2.02 1.83 1.56 2.05 1.93 2.08 2.40
Assault N 2019 1955 1931 2059 2163 2684 2622
R 14.63 13.87 13.41 13.91 14.23 17.10 16.29
Robbery N 4737 4934 4510 5336 5991 7881 9065
R 34.33 34.99 31.32 36.05 39.41 50.20 56.30
Theft N 63543 63356 60570 65551 68959 77070 82314
R 460.46 449.33 420.63 442.91 453.68 490.89 511.27
Relatively speaking, the number of assaults, robberies and thefts showed a
marginally slower increase than intentional homicide. The crime of theft,
including theft of motor vehicle, house breaking and all other thefts continue
to be the most frequent crime recorded in Malaysia, currently constituting over
80 per cent of all crimes recorded annually.
Offenders in selected crimes
The number of offenders coming in contact with the criminal justice system does
not show a trend similar to that noted for crimes recorded. For example, the
number of intentional homicides recorded by the police peaked in 1986 but the
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number of offenders apprehended by the police in 1986 for this crime was the
lowest during the 1980-1986 period.
TABLE 2
Number of Arrests by Crime, 1980 to 1986
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Intention homicide 212 220 252 263 287 266 191
Assault 786 809 859 1079 1056 1181 986
Robbery 851 839 815 986 987 1220 1047
Theft 8596 8541 8119 9057 8952 9999 9224
Similar patterns are obtained for the other three crimes.
Offenders prosecuted
The number of prosecutions demonstrate a trend similar to that noted for
offenders. For assaults, robberies and theft the actual number of persons
prosecuted are quite similar to offenders coming in contact with the police.
But it appears that for serious violent crime like intentional homicide far
fewer are prosecuted than apprehended.
TABLE 3
Prosecution and Conviction, 1980 to 1986
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Intentional homicide 148 122 80 94 63 73 82
Assault 823 693 893 761 709 759 756
Robbery 885 792 789 853 775 790 977
Theft 8188 8917 9123 8555 7413 9064 9430
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2.1. STATISTICS --BACKGROUND
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2.2. CRIMINAL JUSTICE STATISTICS (1970-1980) Background
Insert notes and exceptions to the general definitions and recording
practices.
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2.3. Offenses Reported To The Police
Crime Years Total Numbers
MURDER 70-75 114 149 206 128 241 192
MURDER 75-80 230 240 279
ASSAULT 70-75 1456 1494 1529 1393 1515 1557
ASSAULT 75-80 1750 2019
SEX CRIME 70-75 520 534 247 580 279 479
RAPE 75-80 289 312 368
ROBBERY 70-75 863 960 1280 1567 2464 3390
ROBBERY 75-80 3609 3638 4737
THEFT 70-75 24024 25501 26996 33550 41581 51035
THEFT 75-80 47206 61101 71619
FRAUD 70-75 936 1067 1092 929 1165 1078
FRAUD 75-80 2042
KIDNAPING 70-75 0 0 0 0 0 12
KIDNAPING 75-80 10 7
TOTAL CRIMES
70-75 29537 35001 50681
75-80 61508 67041 80314
DRUG USE 70-75
DRUG CRIMES
75-80 5655
DRUG TRAFFIC
70-75 624 747 983 1161 1165 2516
75-80
BRIBERY 70-75
BRIBERY 75-80 379
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2.4. Offenders apprehended or arrested
OFFENDERS 70-75 4472 5122 4477 4411 5010 5391
OFFENDERS 75-80 16372
JUVENILES 70-75 1248 1387 1310 1393 1515 1557
JUVENILES 75-80
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2.5. Offenders Convicted
Sentencing
The number of persons convicted for selected crimes are shown in Table 4. A
comparison of number of convictions with number of prosecutions reveal some
interesting patterns. It appears that a much higher proportion of those
prosecuted for property and property related crimes, eg., robbery and theft,
than that for violent crimes, receive a conviction disposition. Whereas only
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about half of those prosecuted for intentional homicide are eventually
convicted, well over 80 per cent of those prosecuted for theft are found guilty
and convicted.
TABLE 4
Number of Persons Convicted in the Criminal Courts
1980 to 1986
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Intentional homicide 90 72 66 48 43 37 37
Assault 619 552 645 580 492 515 484
Robbery 696 594 631 661 590 598 740
Theft 7146 7955 7892 7503 6690 8127 8014
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2.6. Sanctions - Background
Imprisonment
Imprisonment rates in the countries of the Asian and Pacific Region have been
presented in Part Two. Table 5 presents information on the number of admissions
to prisons each year for persons charged with selected crimes. The figures do
not refer only to sentenced prisoners.
TABLE 5
Number of Admissions to Prison Per Year
1980 to 1986
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Intentional homicide 17 13 14 14 5 19 38
Assault 68 52 41 45 40 59 204
Robbery 806 663 427 546 553 1196 1638
Theft 3494 3963 3126 2984 2577 3789 4298
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2.7. Prison Statistics
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2.8. Criminal Justice Personnel and resources - background
Expenditure data, presented in Table 6, show that whereas the police and
prosecution are operating at almost constant cost, expenditure on prisons has
increased over the years.
TABLE 6
Expenditure on Criminal Justice
In Millions of Malaysian Dollars
1982 1984 1986
Police 929.1 835.3 960.8
Prosecution 1.8 1.7 1.8
Prisons 57.2 60.9 81.8
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2.9. Criminal Justice Resources Statistics
POLICE 1973 35756
POLICE 75-80
JUDGES 1973 23
PROSEC 70-72 12
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3.0. CRIMINAL JUSTICE STATISTICS (1980-1985)
A. Criminal Records Office, Royal Malaysia police, Kuala Lumpur.
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3.1. Offenses Reported To The Police
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
TOTAL 80314 83722 81917 89501 94423 105300 109357
INT.HOM. 279 258 225 303 293 327 386
MAJ.ASSAULTS 2019 1955 1931 2059 2163 2684 2622
RAPES 368 360 442 460 470 530 688
ROBBERIES 4737 4934 4510 5336 5991 7881 9065
THEFTS 35392 35038 31025 32103 32128 34305 36343
MAJ.THEFTS 28151 28318 29545 33448 36831 42765 45971
FRAUDS 2042 3105 1740 2767 3447 3810 2687
EMBEZZLEMENT M M 420 672 1023 1098 784
KIDNAPPING 7 11 16 7 19 17 21
DRUG POSS. 5386 7881 9808 10263 9945 9791 8774
OTHER DRUG 269 388 592 618 680 716 595
BRIBERY 379 326 710 530 636 496 537
OTHER 1285 1148 898 935 797 880 884
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3.2. Offenders apprehended or arrested
Suspected Offenders
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
TOTAL 16372 19130 21311 23207 22897 24200 21973
INT.HOM. 212 220 252 263 287 266 191
ASSAULT 786 809 859 1079 1056 1181 986
RAPE 161 185 253 347 276 310 337
ROBBERY 851 839 815 986 987 1220 1047
THEFT 8596 8541 8119 9057 8952 9999 9224
FRAUD M M 320 352 381 414 498
KIDNAPPING 20 12 23 5 30 31 32
DRUG POSS. 5610 8269 10400 10881 10606 10483 9340
BRIBERY 119 239 257 220 302 264 270
OTHER 17 16 13 17 20 32 48
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3.3. Offenders Convicted
No Data
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3.4. Prisoners
Prison Admissions
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
TOTAL 14908 17618 19441 20195 18299 23635 24885
INT.HOM. 17 13 14 14 5 19 38
NON.INT.HOM. 117 152 178 194 142 150 95
ASSAULT 68 52 41 45 40 59 204
RAPE 90 126 87 160 176 312 154
ROBBERY 806 663 427 546 553 1196 1638
THEFT 3494 3963 3126 2984 2577 3789 4298
FRAUD 779 758 705 749 688 1131 882
KIDNAPPING 17 19 24 10 5 86 32
DRUG POSS. 3491 4589 7448 7665 6896 8262 8687
Convicted Prisoners
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
TOTAL 6431 8117 8490 9064 8952 11743 12959
INT.HOM. 66 55 65 77 69 61 77
NON.INT.HOM. 188 196 252 345 303 279 217
ASSAULT 16 14 49 35 33 51 139
RAPE 65 78 74 101 98 142 175
ROBBERY 834 708 531 427 667 817 650
THEFT 1192 1485 1453 1296 1026 1402 1111
FRAUD 393 562 432 402 345 519 777
KIDNAPPING 34 15 36 46 33 56 71
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DRUG POSS. 1572 2450 3187 3984 4318 5791 6674
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3.5. Criminal Justice Resources Statistics
CRJ Personnel
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
POLICE 77210 80042 80037
MAN.STF.-ADULT 522 525 551
CUST.STF.-ADULT 5178 4353 4938
TREAT.STF.-ADULT 35 35 70
OTHER STF.-ADULT 556 569 629
MAN.STF.-JUV. 51 51 51
CUST.STF.-JUV. 392 414 414
TREAT.STF.-JUV. 15 15 15
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4.0. Selected Issues
Crime prevention strategies
A number of specific measures have been initiated in recent years in the area of
crime prevention. Basically these are in two main categories -- those which
come within the enlightened police functions and those requiring community
involvement.
1. The role of the Royal Malaysia Police - preventive measures: A combined
proactive -- situational approach has been adopted by the Royal Malaysia Police
to prevent and control crime in Malaysia. Circumstances which go towards
constituting a crime risk are constantly evaluated and measures are taken to
remove or at least reduce that risk. Police action covers every type of action
that can be legally and fairly taken to prevent or reduce the opportunity for
crime. Some of the preventive and enforcement measures undertaken by the Royal
Malaysia Police are:
- Target-hardening related activities -- such as advising banks, financial
institutions, goldsmiths and other commercial sectors, to upgrade their security
systems and securing their premises from being potential targets of criminal
attacks. Members of the public are also advised via the mass-media to take
steps to minimise opportunities for the commission of crime;
- Improving the image of the police through improved police-public relations.
- School information program -- police officers are assigned to schools not
only to investigate any crimes involving students but also as guest speakers.
These officers are from time to time called upon by the school to deliver talks
on the various components of the criminal justice system and on specific
criminal matters.
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2. Community involvement in crime prevention: Community involvement is a
necessary crime prevention ingredient. It has been acknowledged as the most
influential component of the Criminal Justice System in Malaysia. It has been
recognised that because of its pervasiveness people can make a significant
difference in the prevention and detection of crime and in the treatment and
rehabilitation of offenders. There are voluntary organisations, societies,
clubs and associations that have responded positively to prevention initiatives
and other activities incidental thereto.
Specific programs in this area are: The formation of Vigilante Corps; one of
the objectives of this corps is to assist in the maintenance of peace and
security in outlying rural areas.
The Neighbourhood Watch Group; this program aims at:
- fostering closer relationships among the multi-racial communities and
instilling a sense of responsibility among them to maintain the peace that is
prevailing in the community;
- strengthening the relationship between the government and the people based
on mutual respect, trust and confidence;
- promoting good citizenship and unity among the multi-racial communities
within a neighbourhood through good neighbourliness.
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Modified Tuesday, January 18, 2011 Copyright @ 2007 by Fathers' Manifesto & Christian Party |
