Rights groups condemn plan to fingerprint babies
Police proposal 'unconstitutional and illogical'
A plan to fingerprint all newborn babies to combat crime has come under attack from backbenchers, lawyers and human rights activists, who say it is unconstitutional and treats innocent children as potential criminals.
Police announced on Monday they want to take the palm and foot prints of newborns for storage in a computer database to be used in later years to arrest criminals.
'The prints will be matched with those recovered from the crime scenes to identify criminals,' said Amidon Anan, head of police forensic science. 'It is the ideal solution against crime.'
Officials said babies' prints grew as they matured but computer software existed that could match the changes and keep databases updated. They said a similar system was used in America, where privacy and human rights were jealously guarded, but priority was also given to combating crime.
Senior police officers are evaluating the plan.
But serious opposition has developed even before the plan is formally submitted to the government for consideration.
'The plan criminalises the baby and presumes they will grow into criminals ... it is ridiculous,' said Elizabeth Wong, secretary-general of the National Human Rights Society. 'The plan is poorly thought out and completely illogical.'
Another human rights group, SUARAM, agreed. 'This plan will create a lifelong climate of fear and intimidation,' co-ordinator S Arulchelvam said. 'It's an invasion of privacy.'
Now, all Malaysians are thumb-printed and issued with an identification card when they turn 12. But police say the thumb prints are inadequate because premeditated crimes like rape and murder are increasingly sophisticated.
While incidents of crime have risen sharply since 1990 and now average about 160,000 cases a year, police methods and skill levels are largely undeveloped.
Murder and sexual crimes have tripled since 1990. Last year 650 murders and 1,500 rapes were committed.
This is high compared to Singapore, where crime rates are among the lowest in the world.
But compared to crime in neighbouring Thailand, where 6,000 murders and 4,200 rapes were committed last year, crime rates in Malaysia remain low.
Crime is a domestic phenomenon, although illegal immigrants take the blame for rising crime. Police statistics show they commit less then 1 per cent of all crime.
Opposition backbenchers blame police corruption and inefficiency for the rise, but police blame manpower shortages.
An independent royal commission has recommended more than 100 measures - from fighting corruption to promoting meritocracy and raising wages - to improve the police force.
But some police officers remain fascinated with quick fixes, especially those that grab headlines.
