Malaysian police to use drones to ensure adherence to MCO

PETALING JAYA • Malaysian police warned that they would use drones or make surprise visits to households in the run-up to the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive season to ensure that the public complies with the movement control order (MCO) that took effect yesterday.

The MCO - Malaysia's third since the start of the pandemic - was announced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday as the government struggles to contain surging Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations.

The police will use drones to detect the violation of MCO rules but its use will be subject to the request of district police chiefs in the states, Bernama news agency quoted the police as saying.

"At the same time, the public is advised to report any SOP violation during Aidilfitri festivities that happen in their residential areas to the police," Bukit Aman's Internal Security and Public Order chief M.V. Sri Kumar said, referring to standard operating procedures.

He added that for high-rise residential areas, police will check the visitor logs at the premises.

In the Petaling Jaya district of Selangor, police said they will deploy eight teams to make surprise visits to households to enforce rules on household visits and open-house gatherings.

Petaling Jaya Assistant Commander Mohamad Fakhrudin said police would tighten these checks in the run-up to Hari Raya Aidilfitri and cautioned that those planning to organise such events will face a fine of RM25,000 (S$8,040).

Those caught visiting would face RM5,000 fines, he said. "We want to ensure that no one is organising open houses or entertaining visitors, which is prohibited," he said on Tuesday. "During Hari Raya, they will be patrolling neighbourhoods."

Under the current MCO, visits to cemeteries are banned. Only 50 people are allowed in mosques with capacities that exceed 1,000, while only 20 are allowed in mosques that accommodate fewer than 1,000 people, for Hari Raya prayers. Meanwhile, Bukit Aman Traffic and Enforcement Department deputy director Nadzri Husain said police have launched a week-long "Ops Rentas" operation to deter would-be border crossers for Hari Raya.

He said the exercise, which started on Monday, was also to ensure that those who had approval to cross state borders would adhere to traffic rules.

Roadblocks would be set up along the major North-South Expressway and East Coast Expressway at scheduled times. Mr Nadzri said: "Roadblocks will not remain static in one location but will keep on changing every few hours."

He advised motorists against violating the travel ban as offenders will be forced to turn back on top of being slapped with a fine for violating the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act.

"We hope all Malaysians will give us their cooperation because we do not want the Covid-19 situation to worsen," he said.

On complaints that such roadblocks could cause traffic congestion, he said the police had no other options.

"We need time to check the documents as there were cases where people tried to cheat their way through using photocopies of fake documents," he said.

Police, he said, would also use special equipment such as in-car radars during the operation to detect those flouting traffic rules. The in-car radars allow patrolling police to detect vehicles' speeds and pull up any outstanding summonses on the spot.

Malaysia recorded 4,765 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, its highest in more than three months. Selangor (2,082) and Kuala Lumpur (540) logged the most number of cases, said the Health Ministry's director-general, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, as Malaysia breached the 450,000 case mark.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK