DUNGUN:All political party leaders contesting in the coming 13th general election are asked to advise their supporters to be more responsible and not resort to provocation during the election campaign period.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said if all quarters were responsible and played their role accordingly, there would be no trouble and problems in the coming elections.
“The task of the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) is to maintain peace and order, but it is more important for the political parties to remind their supporters not to resort to provocation to avoid fights so as to ensure a smooth general election.”
Speaking to reporters on PDRM’s preparations for the coming general election, Ismail said he had held discussions with all state police chiefs, while two training sessions were held to test the communications operational capability between Bukit Aman and state and district police headquarters and the police stations.
“Since some months ago, we have taken proactve measures including conducting courses on the Elections Act so that they are well-versed with their respective tasks and aware of the challenges.
Asked whether PDRM might be stationing more personnel in the hot spots, Ismail said PDRM would not make wild predictions, but its actions would be based on information and intelligence work and reports received from the public.
“We are prepared for the coming general election which we regard as the most challenging,” he said.
Ismail also expressed his disappointment over the incident where nine prisoners from the Penang Prison managed to escape while being taken in a police van to the Butterworth court on Jan 7.
The prisoners seized the police van after beating up the four accompanying policemen and pushing them out of the van.
Ismail said the incident would not have happened if all the policemen on duty had followed the standard operating procedure set in managing prisoners.
“We are looking at the weaknesses and will correct them so that such an incident will not recur.
“The investigation is still on and if there’s proof of negligence, I want action taken against those responsible by the relevant department,” he said. — Bernama