STATISTICS ON SERIOUS CRIMES

Mr Zulkifli Bin Baharudin asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether recent crime statistics show that an increasing number of Malays are involved in serious crimes.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: The number of Malays involved in serious crimes1 is on a general downward trend. This downward trend is likely to continue for this year.

The number of Malays arrested for serious crimes per 100,000 persons of the population decreased from 204 in 1998 to 178 in 1999 and 141 in 2000. In addition, the absolute number of Malays arrested for serious crimes in 2000 was the lowest in 3 years. The crime statistics do not show an increasing number of Malays involved in serious crimes.

However, based on data for the year 2000, the national rate for the number of locals2 arrested for serious crimes stood at 65 per 100,000 persons of the population, while that for the Malay population was 141 per 100,000. The Police will continue to monitor the situation closely and work with the relevant agencies to tackle the problem.