MUAR - THE rising crime rate in Johor has hit tourism, and the Malaysian government is taking action to deal with the fallout.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Deputy Tourism Minister Donald Lim said his ministry has yet to gauge the extent of the blow to the tourism industry.

The situation mirrors Johor's tourism woes in January last year, when it saw a million fewer visitors from Singapore, which is the state's largest tourism market, because they were put off by its high crime rate. As a result, Johor lost RM225 million (S$100 million) in tourism revenue then.

But, by the end of last year, more than 7.9 million Singaporeans had visited Johor again.

There is much at stake because this year is Visit Malaysia Year, with Datuk Lim's ministry aiming to attract 20.1 million visitors and earn RM44.5 billion in foreign exchange.

Also on Wednesday, the Cabinet ordered Johor police to come down hard on criminals. It has approved the deployment of 400 more policemen on Johor's streets, with 200 more patrol cars to help them nab and deter thugs.

The directive came two days after Johor police chief Hussin Ismail said 400 more policemen would be deployed throughout the state within the next two to three months.

Ironically, on the day these crime-busting steps were announced, two schoolgirls were raped - within six hours of each other near Johor Baru - with one of the rapists posing as a policeman.

These two cases are just the latest in a running series of violent crimes in the state in recent months, and do nothing to boost the public's confidence in the police.

To tackle rising crime, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said the Cabinet has approved RM6 million (S$2.7 million) for three new temporary district police headquarters to keep the peace. These would be staffed by the 400 extra policemen.

As to Johor's current crime rate proper, Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman told the state assembly yesterday that, between January and April this year, 9,175 cases were reported, with the highest number - 4,538 - in south Johor Baru.

The two other most crime-ridden areas in the state were north Johor Baru (1,837 cases) and Muar (734).

Datuk Abdul Ghani also said that to meet Interpol's specified ratio for the number of policemen to the population, that is, 1:250, Johor would need to deploy a further 6,910 policemen. If that is done, the state would have a total of 14,473 policemen.

Datuk Lim also urged Johor residents to be on the alert for crime and notify the police immediately if they spotted anything suspicious.

Doing so might, perhaps, have helped the two girls who were raped on Wednesday.

The first girl, who is 16, was ambushed in Pasir Gudang by four men on motorcycles at around 12.30am.

Her assailants took her to a secluded area, raped her, then dropped her off at the spot where they had ambushed her. She flagged down a taxi and went home, before lodging a police report.

The second girl, 14, was waiting with her 13-year-old brother for their school bus at 6.30am in Tampoi.

A man, claiming to be a policeman, ordered them into his car. He demanded their identity cards, which they did not have with them. He drove them back to their house, and when the boy went in to get the identity cards, the man sped off with the sister.

He brought her to a spot in Senai, raped her and left. The girl managed to hail passers-by, who took her home.

These rapes are just the latest in a series of violent rob-and-rape cases in the state, including the recent gang rape of a 28-year-old pregnant woman in Tampoi by two men, while her three-year-old son was with her.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, BERNAMA

CALL FOR SAFE STREETS

'It is time to make a change. I don't want my children to live in fear any more. I want them to go to school, go to work and go out and meet friends without being terrorised by crime on the streets.'
MS WONG LEY FOON, 37, who was robbed, carjacked at knifepoint and had her house burgled in the past.

COMMON PLIGHT

'Almost everyone here has their own account of being a victim of crime, or knows someone who was a victim. I am not saying that the police are not doing anything. But more should be done before more people fall prey to criminals.'
TAY BOON LOI, 47, on how many Johor residents have become crime victims.