For PJ police chief, winning trust of elderly important to keep crime at bay

ACP Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal speaks to Malay Mail during an interview at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters June 24, 2020. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 — New Petaling Jaya police chief ACP Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal knew early on in his term that he needed to engage with the elderly in the community he now served. 

Most importantly, he wanted them to be “comfortable” with the police force and know their security needs would be looked into.

It may seem like a big change of pace for the man who used to head the narcotics departments in Kota Kinabalu and Cheras before working at International Relations in Bukit Aman.

But Nik Ezanee sees it all as service to the community.

In the four months since he took up his new position, he has seen the country change government as well as go through a pandemic.

During the tense days before, during and after the fall of the previous administration, Nik Ezanee had to prepare his taskforce to be on standby while deploying plainclothes policemen to monitor the situation.

Right after the political upheaval, Malaysia was put under the movement control order (MCO). A game plan for the district that compromises an area of 97.2 square kilometres had to be mapped out for roadblocks as well as monitoring of any non-compliance.   

Nik Ezanee spent most of the time with his men at roadblocks to keep their morale up.

Bringing back the ‘guardian angel’ 

He said based on the feedback received so far after engaging with PJ folks, he has learned that they are not worried about “serious crimes” in the district, which are under control, but more concerned about crimes such as house break-ins and street crimes such as snatch thefts. 

“Our focus is on house break-ins and street crimes. A lot of people in the community are still suffering from trauma from their past experiences of snatch thefts that took place many years ago. 

“So, one of my main goals is building trust with them again. We need to bring back their confidence that their problem can be solved by my men... they must get that ‘guardian angel protection" when they see the police. We need to make PJ folks feel safe again," he said.

Nik Ezanee said he is coaching his men to makes themselves more approachable and friendly to the community 

“I’ve told my men, they cannot look at us and feel intimidated. We cannot appear defensive. We must make them look at us comfortably, to share things as they (the community) play a big part in helping us to solve crimes,” said Nik Ezanee, who when off duty would mingle with the people to understand their problems.

“All our meetings with all the residents’ associations, they always leave with a smile and feel comfortable, now that's what I tell my men they need to do. Improve their communication, interpersonal skills and keep engaging with the community,” said Nik Ezanee who is also known for going down to crime scenes in PJ even if they are just small cases.

Nik Ezanee delivers a box of face masks to Madam Ah Siong, whom he had last seen nearly 30 years ago. — Picture courtesy of the Petaling Jaya police

And just last week, he paid a surprise visit to octogenarian Madam Ah Siong.

Nik Ezanee treated Madam Ah Siong, whom he calls aunty, to a pau (steamed bun) and spent time chatting with her about his childhood when she used to buy him paus while working with his parents.

Unsurprisingly, the meeting went viral on social media.

“This is what I want my men to do... to restore faith in a layman way. Take away the ego and authoritarianism. 

“Even if you can’t help with a certain issue that's not under police jurisdiction, be a listener and guide them to the relevant authorities,” he said

“I want them to inject the human feeling, put aside the police barrier. I often tell them, just one good deed a day can spark a sense of purpose in you,” he added.

Return of crime post- MCO

While crime in PJ dropped 22 per cent in the first half of the year, Nik Ezanee warned that petty crime is back on the rise.

Before the MCO, the district saw an average of 16 cases of petty crime in a day while the situation was under control during MCO.

During the conditional MCO (CMCO), there were about four cases daily and after a while when Malaysia entered the recovery MCO (RMCO) phase, the cases spiked up to 10 to 12 daily. 

“We are doing well in fighting the pandemic but crime is on the rise as even criminals are financially desperate. We have to stay vigilant.

Nik Ezanee (centre) speaks to members of the Resident Association of Kampung Tunku during a recent meeting in Sungai Way. — Picture courtesy of the Petaling Jaya police

“Besides house break-ins and street crime, commercial crime is also on the rise where senior citizens are targeted,” Nik Ezanee said referring to scam calls made to vulnerable victims threatening them for money for "bailouts” of a crime they did not commit.

“I want to let the PJ folks know this, the police will never ever call you to ask for your identification number, credit card details, or other personal information in any situation.

“At most, we will only call to summon you to the police station if required. So please understand this and it's also the job of the young ones to remind their vulnerable parents from time to time.”

Nik Ezanee also shared that during MCO there was a house break-in where a burglar stole some rice and cooking essentials but the house owner did not want to make a police report.

“The house owner understood the situation during MCO and didn't want to make a big deal and sympathised with the fact someone was desperate for food.”

The Petaling Jaya district has been in the news lately with their roadblocks to nab those driving under the influence of alcohol. Nik Ezanee said he has no tolerance for drivers who selfishly cause harm to other road users.

“I won't call it drunk driving. ‘Drunk’ is subjective. But we are taking action against anyone who is the ‘driver’ under the influence of alcohol. 

“The world has moved forward so much. We now have e-hailing services such as Grab so we will no longer tolerate silly excuses. Just Grab if you want to drink.”

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