April 26 ( Bernama) — The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) is reminding everyone to refrain from flying drones during the Movement Control Order (MCO). This applies to members of the media as well, and spans throughout the whole country.
PDRM’s Drone Unit chief Rasha Azaldin Shafii said doing so without a permit from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) is against the law. Specifically, this is a violation of violation of the Malaysian Civil Aviation Regulations 2016 (MCAR 2016). This can lead to a fine of between RM50000 and RM100000, or three years’ imprisonment if found guilty.
Rasha Azaldin also said that since the start of the MCO, there have been four cases of drone operations without permission. PDRM is still conducting further investigations on the cases . He also said that the police are prepared to use drone jammers to enforce this.
For now, drones are used specifically for air monitoring of MCO compliance. This is especially for areas that are under Enhanced MCO. The CAAM authorised this use of drones by the PDRM Drone Unit earlier in the month. The drone operation also involves the Malaysian Armed Forces.
