Rajendran (centre) at the police briefing for new school traffic wardens at the MBPP Town Hall. — Buletin Mutiara
MBPP to pay token sum for managing vehicles near schools, keeping students safe
THE Penang Island City Council (MBPP) will pay school traffic wardens a modest monthly allowance as a token of appreciation for their contributions.
Penang Island mayor Datuk A. Rajendran congratulated the MBPP traffic sub-committee, state Education Department and the police for collaborating to increase the number of wardens managing traffic around schools.
Rajendran also praised MBPP councillor Tan Soo Siang for securing the department’s support.
“This collaboration resulted in the engagement with primary and secondary schools to appoint school wardens who participated in the programme,” he said at an event at the MBPP Town Hall at the Esplanade.
Buletin Mutiara reported that 87 schools on Penang island took part in a police briefing for newly appointed wardens.
“The primary purpose of today’s briefing is for the police to equip school traffic wardens with the essential skills to regulate vehicular movement and facilitate safe crossings for students,” Rajendran said in his speech.
The participants will be commissioned as certified school traffic wardens after successfully completing the training.
“Hopefully, traffic congestion in the school areas, especially during school hours, will be reduced and safety can be improved with the appointment of wardens.
A police officer briefing wardens on how to effectively control traffic during peak hours.
“I would like to advise road users to always be careful and adhere to the traffic rules and instructions of the wardens when passing through the school grounds,” he added.
Rajendran said the school traffic warden service was introduced 30 years ago to help students cross roads safely, especially for schools that did not have pedestrian crossings.
“However, with the rising number of private vehicles used by parents and guardians for student transportation, traffic congestion also surged,” he said.
“In response to this challenge, the then MPPP (now MBPP) established a traffic sub-committee for schools in 2012.”
The sub-committee has since executed a range of strategies such as implementing one-way traffic systems, widening roads to accommodate student drop off and pick up points and installing traffic lights.
Also present at the event were Northeast District Police headquarters traffic control officer Insp Haris Safuan, Penang Education Department students’ affairs unit assistant director Mohd Shukri Idris, MBPP Health Department deputy director Dr Chin Wee Loon, MBPP Engineering Department director Cheah Chin Kooi and representatives from various schools nominated as traffic wardens.
Tan expressed her appreciation to the state Education Department for playing a vital role in enlisting the more than 80 traffic wardens comprising parents, parent-teacher association members, and school staff members.
“This is the first time we have had so many participants, which underscores the growing awareness on the importance of engaging parents and staff as traffic wardens,” Tan said.
