Malaysia police expecting 30% increase in vehicles on Johor roads this CNY

JOHOR BAHRU - The number of vehicles entering Johor, including those from Singapore, is expected to increase by at least 30 per cent this Chinese New Year, said Johor police.

Johor police chief Ab Rahaman Arsad said the police would focus on ensuring smooth traffic flow at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar and Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar throughout the festive season.

“We believe these two main entry points will experience extraordinary congestion due to the continuous long holidays throughout the Chinese New Year period.

“We expect to see an increase of between 30 per cent and 40 per cent in the number of vehicles entering Johor this festive season compared to normal days, including those from Singapore,” he said at a press conference after launching Ops Selamat 25 in conjunction with Chinese New Year at Sutera Mall on Feb 14.

Ops Selamat is a traffic safety operation carried out by the Royal Malaysian Police to ensure safety on all roads in Malaysia during festive seasons such as Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Deepavali and Christmas Day.

Commissioner Ab Rahaman said that the police has identified 47 locations that frequently experience traffic congestion, and 38 locations where accidents occur regularly.

He added that 1,801 policemen, including 214 officers, will be involved in the operation, which will be conducted between Feb 15 and 20.

“Apart from ensuring smooth traffic flow, we also aim to reduce accidents by at least 5 per cent throughout Ops Selamat this time compared to previous operations.

“We will focus on preventing accidents involving motorcyclists as they were the main contributors to fatal accidents in previous operations,” he said.

He added that 1,169 accidents, including five fatal cases involving eight deaths, were reported during the previous Ops Selamat. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK