Friday July 6, 2012

Ever on the alert

By CHRISTINA CHIN
sgchris@thestar.com.my

AFTER Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mansor Othman questioned the state police force’s efficiency, the Penang MCA set out to prove him wrong and they succeeded.

They conducted a test run and less than five minutes after they alerting the police about a ‘robbery’, the men in blue arrived to answer the distress call.

Some 10 officers who were nearby immediately rushed to the scene after receiving the information from the operation centre but were shocked to see a group of waiting journalists.

Komtar MCA branch chairman Lim Cheng Hee then informed them that he was conducting a “test run” of the police interactive kiosk to see if the force was working hard to ensure Penangites’ safety.

“This is not a prank and I apologise for the inconvenience caused but Mansor had alleged the state police force was inefficient and we wanted to see if he was right.

“So today, in the interests of Penangites, we conducted a test to see how long it would take for the police to respond to a robbery alert via the interactive kiosk.

Watchful as always: Lim (right) and Loh (middle) checking out the police interactive kiosk in front of Gama supermarket in George Town as policemen look on.

“It look only about three minutes before they arrived so this proves that Mansor was wrong in questioning the professionalism and efficiency of the force,” he said in front of Komtar yesterday.

Lim alerted the police at 11.08am and by 11.10am, officers started arriving at the scene separately. At 11.20am, a patrol car reached.

Jalan Patani police station assistant chief Ins M. Balachandran was among the first to reach the site.

“Any officer no matter which station they are from will rush to the scene of a crime if they are nearby,” he said.

Police contingent headquarters special branch (criminal division) officer Sgt Izhar Ismail said seven of his men surrounded the area upon receiving the alert.

Lim said he was very impressed with the prompt police action which proved that they were dedicated to keeping Penangites safe.

On Wednesday when urging the police to beef up security in the state, Mansor told a press conference that the safety of the state’s top leaders was a serious issue.

Condemning the alleged political violence against Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng during the latter’s walkabout in Teluk Bahang market last Saturday, he said the state exco members were disappointed that the police had allowed such an incident to happen.

To this, Komtar Barisan Nasional coordinator Loh Chye Teik who was also present said Guan Eng should request for more (police) bodyguards if he did not feel safe here.

“Today, we have shown that the police are doing their job efficiently despite Mansor claiming that Guan Eng does not feel safe. If you ask me, this is the safest Penang has ever been,” he said.

Loh said he had set up two volunteer patrol teams since he was appointed Barisan coordinator and the effort has resulted in a reduction in night crimes.

“However, in the daytime, there were some robbery cases reported in the area and we are concerned.

“That is why today we came to make sure the interactive kiosk is functioning.

“I hope the public will use it to alert the police if they see any suspicious characters hanging around,” he said.

He also called for more interactive kiosks to be installed in the state.

Since last year, four interactive kiosks have been installed in the state under the Federal Government’s safe city initiative.