KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Klang Valley residents must have imagined that barbed wire fencing and barriers will be everywhere as soon as the government announced on the 14-day Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) until July 16. 

A check by Bernama however found the situation was different from the localities which have been placed under EMCO before this and the standard operating procedures (SOP) imposed in Kuala Lumpur and the Selangor sub-districts too were not the same.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Azmi Abu Kassim when asked to comment on the different sets of SOP said, the EMCO in Kuala Lumpur was based on the  locality while in Selangor it depended on the sub-districts involved.

In Selangor, there are no barbed wire fencing but the focus is on roadblocks and the number has increased, while in Kuala Lumpur the number of roadblocks is maintained, but the locality is installed with barbed wire fencing.

“So far, we have 17 roadblocks but the other procedures will continue as usual,” he told reporters after checking on the EMCO at Taman Bukit Angkasa here today.

Azmi said so far 19 areas have been placed under EMCO in Kuala Lumpur involving five localities in Lembah Pantai, eight localities in Wangsa Maju, Cheras (two), Sentul (four) and about 800 policemen have been assigned to take turns guarding the areas.

A check by Bernama around the capital city today found that some of the localities under EMCO were not installed with barbed wire fencing as before, among them, four blocks at Batu Muda People’s Housing Project (PPR) were instead put under tight security with police barrier tapes placed all around.

The household representatives who are allowed to go out from 10 am to 2 pm are required to report at a temporary police shed at each block near the building exit.

Meanwhile, among the areas which have been installed with barbed wire fencing are Taman Koperasi Polis (Phase 1 & 2) and Kampung Baru Air Panas PPR.

Last week, the National Security Council decided on the enforcement of EMCO in 34 sub-districts in Selangor involving eight districts namely Petaling, Hulu Langat; Sepang; Gombak; Kuala Langat; Klang; Kuala Selangor and Hulu Selangor.

 In Kuala Lumpur, among the housing areas involved are Sri Semarak PPR,  Batu Muda PPR, Flat Section 1 and 2 Wangsa Maju Flats, Kampung Padang Balang, Taman Koperasi Polis (Phase 1 & 2) and Sri Sabah Flat.

Yesterday, the media reported that the EMCO implementation in Kuala Lumpur will see the installation of barbed wires and road barriers, in contrast to Selangor, which will have more roadblocks mounted.

Selangor police chief Datuk Arjunaidi Mohamed said 80 per cent of the nearly 14,000 personnel and officers would be utilised for standard operation procedure (SOP) compliance operations in the EMCO areas so as to ensure no individual crossed boundaries.

He said 120 to 140 roadblocks would be mounted and mobile roadblocks and ‘snap checks’ would also be increased.

Meanwhile, several residents said they were confused and uncertain about the EMCO SOPs, among them food delivery worker Mohd Zabidi Mohd Zaid, 32, who said he was not sure if he could go out to work.

“The dos and don’t’s are still vague to me, for example today I was told I am not allowed to work and am only allowed to go out in case of a health emergency,” he said.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here