COMMENT When I call him a clown, some think I am being too kind to him.

But Jamal Mohd Yunos is one character that fits well into cartoonist Zulkiflee SM Anwar Ulhaque or Zunar’s world of cartoons as a court jester.

Less than a month ago, he appeared at the Selangor state secretariat clad only with towels. When a reporter asked him if he was wearing trousers underneath, he could only walk away.

Now, he has become infamous with his ‘beds’ drama, accusing the Selangor state government of closing an eye on the vice dens in Selangor.

The truth of the matter is that the beds should perhaps be appearing in front of Bukit Aman, and I am sure that the inspector-general of police, Khalid Abu Bakar, would have him arrested immediately.

This is because the raids on prostitution and gambling dens, including the prosecution of the people concerned, are under the jurisdiction of the police. It is the police that lead the raids on vice dens, not the local council or the state government.

The state government has the power to seal any illegal building or extension done to the building which was carried out without proper council approval, but the local council has no power to prosecute the operator of the illegal vice den.

The local council, for example, can raid and seal a business premise if an illegal business is conducted without a licence. There are hotels, for example, which are operating as vice dens but all that the local council can do is to seal the building. Prosecution is under the police’s jurisdiction.

IGP cannot ignore the ‘clown’

Now that Jamal has created a brouhaha over the vice dens in Selangor, the IGP can no longer ignore his complaints.

In fact, as I mentioned in the past, the vice dens are not only found in Selangor. They have mushroomed in places under the jurisdiction of the Federal Territories Ministry and the Kuala Lumpur City Hall.

Bukit Bintang is a great example. There are business premises being turned into vice dens. If you were to walk past there, pretending to be a bachelor, it is not impossible for you to be invited to try out the ‘local cuisines’.

Some offered ‘Thai girls’ which sounded more like Tigers. Others would tell you that you can pick your choice. They have many for you to try out.

Another location which Jamal is apparently not mentioning anything about yesterday afternoon is the back lanes of Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, where he operates his business.

Being the chief of the petty traders group, Jamal should urge Federal Territory Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to clean up the streets of alleged transsexual sex workers, instead of the homeless people, from the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

Then, there is also Kepong, which for many years has seen vice dens mushrooming over the years. This is what Jamal should be shouting about. It is under the jurisdiction of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the Federal Territories Ministry.

Next, would Jamal turn up at Tengku Adnan’s office?

That would be an interesting scenario which we would look forward to seeing. One is urging people to meet in the stadium, even if they go “naked”, and the other is offering the beds.