Just as GL dropped us back from badminton, there were two motorcycles parked outside our gate. My heart sank. It was the supposed privately run security detail for our area - and this was the third day they had visited our house. Webby's car was parked on the street and on three separate occasions, had been broken into (smart tag stolen, even though it was in the glove compartment), her left wing mirror been stolen and most recently, been bashed up (see 'bad car-ma' below). We suspect that it's because we hadn't signed up with the security company, which consisted of two men supposedly patrolling the three streets in our area during the night and one man during the day.
This was basically legalised gangsterism. The jaga kereta now graduated to jaga rumah is asking for RM50 per month to make sure your property is 'safe'. Webby was hopping mad when they approached her on Friday for the first time, pointing out that if they were any good, her car wouldn't have been broken into and vandalised so many times. They ignored her complaint and were very insistent on her signing up and said they would come and pick up the form later but she said we'd be out. They came the next day, and I talked to them - telling them what use it was to pay when we didn't feel safe. They still were very aggressive about us signing up. In the end, i told her i'd have to discuss it with my housemates.
We gloomily decided that it was better that we pay the RM50 per month than have something happen to our house or worse still, any of us.
She wanted to scold them (so did i, actually!) but i told her to not aggravate them and just ask them to help look after our house.
I wish there was another way to deal with this problem. We even smsed PL to ask how much it would cost to get a guard at our house. She said depends on whether it's a Gurkha or local and different qualities and whether armed or not armed etc. I was at first quite attracted to the idea of having our own body guard but realised it would cost us a packet and a half, so that fantasy had a quick death.
So we signed up.
Some people say that we have to stand up to these people - but at the risk of my family? No thanks.
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~_~ we're facing the same problem with the new housing area. They came with a "formal letter" and the sign up sheet - but without any info or details. Bloody bloodsuckers! You're right - putting the people we care about at risk is not an option :(. We're seriously thinking of putting CCTVs to monitor them - monitoring the neighbourhood...
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