Khairy slams PPS, asks why Penang did not work with Rakan Cop

PETALING JAYA: Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (pic) has criticised the Penang Voluntary Patrol (PPS) unit, and questioned why the state government had not worked with the Royal Malaysian Police’s Rakan Cop programme.

“Penang state government should have worked with @PDRMsia’s Rakan Cop instead of forming illegal PPS.

“The police already have the Rakan Cop programme Community oriented policing. Why did you need to form your own army in Penang?” he tweeted on Monday.

Khairy also posted a photo of PPS members setting up DAP flags on George Town streets.

“The PPS is there to look after the safety of the people of Penang. Does setting up DAP flags count as crime eradication activities?” quipped Khairy.

It had been reported by online news portals that Khairy agreed with Sunday’s police crackdown on PPS, labelling the group as “dangerous”.

“This is dangerous, I saw pictures of the Penang chief minister with a purple vest, there were ranks. But (they are) not registered. It’s dangerous,” he was reported to have told media after an aerobics session on Monday morning.

Khairy was not the only Cabinet member to criticise PPS, with Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan also taking to twitter to condemn the group.

“Lim Guan Eng said the PPS was set up in 2011 to bring down crime rates in Penang. But without the PPS, how did the police succeed in reducing crime by 27% in 2010?” questioned Abdul Rahman.

On Sunday, police detained 154 PPS members after their participation in the Merdeka Day state-level procession. The PPS members, including seven women were escorted on foot to the Beach Street police station at around 10.10am, after being surrounded by about 50 policemen near the state legislative assembly in Light Street.

From Beach Street, they were carted in vans and school buses to the George Town police district headquarters for further action.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said they were arrested under Section 41 of the Societies Act.

Penang state executive councillor Phee Boon Poh was also detained by police in his capacity as PPS chairman.