Firearms in Malaysia -------------------- Generally forbidden and punishment for posession is rather steep.
Interestingly, Malaysia may well be the one country that could serve as an example how not granting individuals the right to bear arms actually does keep the rate of violent crimes in check. You see, half of the police aren't seriously armed either and only recently have immigration and traffic police received guns. In return the crime rate in most cities is surpringly low and at the same time most violent crimes get solved *because* of the weapon laws. AFter all, if someone uses an illegit weapon the number of sources he might have obtained it from is rather limited. An average of about 29 murders involving fire arms country-wide, with 26 cases solved did even convince me [for now] that limiting the right to bear arms can be beneficial to society at large - as long as it's enforced properly. It appears that the psychological barrier of killing another human being in hand to hand fights with knives, bats, etc. is much stronger than the hesistance to pull a trigger and hit someone 50 yards away. knife wounds are messy, you see blood everwhere and it takes much longer to kill - especially if the opponent is similarly equipped and might hurt you as well. Of course, Malaysia's advantage is that arms were forbidden from the onset and society is used to it. So it is somewhat unlikely that the same would work elsewhere. But, by the same token, allowing people to bear arms IMHO would lead to an explosive increase in violent crimes here. Another example that it's impossible or outright criminal to push the rules on everyone. Something that works well in one place might have the exact opposite effect in another. The intent should always be to improve the life of society as a whole in each region not to copy whatever someone does somewhere else and expect that "it'll work out". Firearms in Thailand -------------------- Generally forbidden as well, but widely tolerated and licenses are available. Rumor has it that every farmer has a gun and the number of covered up murders in large cities is an interesting indicator what happens when the farmers move to cities in search for a better life, jobs, etc. The almost feudalistic mind-set [albeit being a constitutional monarchy with democratically elected government, free votes, etc.] of the Thai psyche has a unique ability to ignore laws and the cover up the outcome so as to not appear in a bad light or loose 'face'. Firearms in Indonesia --------------------- Generally forbidden but easily available. However, prices of both guns and ammunitions are rather steep, which serves as a pretty good deterent. Apart from that, Indonesians, or better Malays are not a violent lot as such and generally respect authority as long as they believe that the authorities have their benefit in mind. Of course, being politically inexperienced and easily swayed by peope promising the moon and free4all, especially the young can turn violent if they are mobbed together in larger groups. But that is mainly a testosterone thing, I guess... Firearms in Australia --------------------- Licensed arm ownership is allowed, especially for farmers. All guns are registered and carrying a weapon on your person requires special permits. It is doubtful that the laws are properly enforced in more remote areas where carrying a shotgun is underhandedly advisable [hey, you've seen crocodile hunter?]. When there are 500 miles between inhabited areas and it's 40' centigrade in the shade, you want to have a gun for overland trips, just in case the car breaks down and nature sends visitors... Cheers, RSZ www.cyberica.net www.cyfrocash.com --- You are currently subscribed to e-gold-list as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Use e-gold's Secure Randomized Keyboard (SRK) when accessing your e-gold account(s) via the web and shopping cart interfaces to help thwart keystroke loggers and common viruses.
