War on Ah Long

The Malaysian government has declared war on Ah Long (illegal moneylenders). After getting all mobile phone owners to register their prepaid phone numbers by 15 December 2006, the government thought that this time they'll be able to track down those slimy characters that gave the investigation team the slip each time. The registration exercise was done in the interest of national security.

With all prepaid phone numbers linked to a particular individual, the government will know who made those calls or those who hid behind a phone call.

Kidnappers can't use the mobile phone to contact their victim's family members else the police will know who are the kidnappers. Ah Longs will be unable to make threatening phone calls to their debtors while demanding their debtors to pay up. Stalkers can't send frightening messages to those persons they were stalking.

Just when the public thought that they would see the last of such things, then came the bombshell:-
"While the police and the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) are working hand in hand in this, there is a loophole in tracing them whereby the numbers could have been registered under a different name or even a ‘phantom’ owner." (source: The Star)

What does this mean? With the expensive exercise that got the whole world to register and then this loophole jumped up now that nobody had expected. Goodness me! So, the whole exercise has gone down the drain. With all the fake identity cards floating around the market, the dark world people would have known how to circumvent whatever rules that the government could have implemented including this farce.

All out war against Ah Longs? What war? Thus, national security is opened to attack????

Just read the following when national security was at stake:-
* In response to complaints from the public, The Star had recently noted down telephone numbers from posters at LRT stations and bus stands in Petaling Jaya and passed the information to the MCMC.
* However, the MCMC replied that it could not act without an official report.
* Subsequently, a report was lodged at the SEA Park police station here.
* The numbers were then forwarded to the MCMC to be traced.
* However, the MCMC replied a few days later that releasing the information to a third party would be a violation of privacy under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
* When asked about this, Fu (Ah Kiow) replied that it was the responsibility of the police to take action.
* Commercial crime director Datuk Ramli Yusof said they would look into all the “Ah Long matters.” However, he said that even with the phone numbers and with the public lodging reports, the police could not “just rush into action.” “We have to investigate first and it could take time,” he told reporter RASHITAH HAMID.
* He urged the public to come forward to make reports, adding that there had not been many such reports so far.

And Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the country's main power producer/provider, had complained that their electricity poles/electrical junction boxes have been vandalised when Ah Longs had posted their advertising stickers all over it. TNB could have just co-operate with the police and make a call to those telephone numbers and detect the culprits. So easy!!!! Or was TNB afraid to make those calls????? Request the police to do it then.........
Tags: Malaysian Government, Ah Long, Illegal Moneylender, Prepaid, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, TNB, Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission, MCMC