KUALA LUMPUR: Police and the Armed Forces conducted another training exercise as they gear up for the 14th general election (GE14).
The exercise saw the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) and the Armed Forces handling a mock riot at the Royal Malaysian Police College in Cheras on Thursday (March 1).
Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department director Comm Datuk Seri Zulkifli Abdullah, who watched the exercise, said this was to make sure that they were ready for any eventuality during the coming polls.
“There were some parties who pointed to our exercises previously to say that the coming election is going to be violent.
“Let me be clear, we are not expecting trouble, but we have to be ready at the highest level,” he said at a press conference after the event.
A total of 170 police and 132 Armed Forces personnel were involved in the exercise.
Comm Zulkifli added that under the law, police are allowed to seek the help of the Armed Forces to step in and deal with rioters in certain situations.
Before the exercise, police chiefs of all districts and states attended seminars at the college on media relations and law as another step in gearing up for GE14.
Comm Zulkifli said a large scale exercise involving the police and the Armed Forces will be held nationwide on March 3 to 4 as one of the final stages of preparations.
“We will have 67,000 personnel and 4,600 volunteer personnel on duty for the election period,” he added.
Comm Zulkifli also said police have set up a special task force to monitor the Internet during the period.
Western Region Field Headquarters general staff army chief Mej-Jen Datuk Tengku Ahmad Noor Tuan Chik was also present during the exercise.