(May 28): Putrajaya has blamed anti-government protests for its poor performance in the Global Peace Index, which has seen Malaysia's ranking drop from 19th spot in 2011 to 33 last year.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told Datuk Ahmad Hamzah (BN-Jasin) in a written reply today said that Malaysia's drop in the rankings were, among others, due to demonstrations which were due to dissatisfaction with the government's policies and rules.

He cited the #KitaLawan as well as Gerakan Hapuskan Akta Hasutan, Anti-Lynas, Perhimpunan Aman Mahasiswa protests and the rallies demanding for oil royalties in Kelantan as examples.

But the #KitaLawan rallies to protest against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's imprisonment were only held this year.

Zahid said the indicators used in the Index included political stability, frequency of violent crime, frequency of street demonstrations and the ratio of police to community.

He said to ensure peace and safety for Malaysians, the government has taken proactive steps to enact laws such as the Peaceful Assembly Act and Prevention of Terrorism Act as well as amending the Sedition Act.

"The government's efforts have paid off with the crime index for 2014 reducing by 12.5% from its targetted 5%.

"According to a 2014 study by Frost and Sullivan, people's satisfaction over the services provided by the police has also increased to 92.5% from the targetted 80%," he said. – The Malaysian Insider