Army ready to help nab interstate flouters

In full force: Both the police and the military will be stationed at strategic places to stop unnecessary travel.

KUALA LUMPUR: The military is committed to working with the police to track down those who travel interstate without authorisation, says Jen Tan Sri Affendi Buang.

The Armed Forces chief said the teams would patrol housing areas and villages.

“Spot checks will also be conducted on vehicles parked outside homes during the Hari Raya celebration.

“We want to find out whether the vehicle and its owner were permitted to travel interstate or otherwise, ” he said yesterday.

Meanwhile, Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Noor Azam Jamaludin said teams, consisting of the police and Armed Forces, will check registration numbers of vehicles, especially if there are many vehicles parked outside a home or residential area.

“If we discover that there are those who flout the ban on interstate travel, we will detain the vehicle owner, which is usually the head of family, ” he said.

Comm Noor Azam said police would take stern action against the culprits as the time for warnings was over.

“No more warning or advice, we will detain those who flout the conditional movement control order (MCO) by travelling interstate without permission, ” he said.

He was commenting on Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador’s announcement that the police and the military will “visit” houses during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations.

“This will be one of the measures taken by the authorities to track down those suspected of making unauthorised interstate balik kampung trips to celebrate with their families, ” the IGP had said.

Comm Noor Azam said Selangor police would carry out the duty of tracking down those who travel interstate without authorisation.

“On top of that, we would also conduct roadblocks at strategic locations to detect those attempting to sneak past authorities to balik kampung. Those without the necessary approval for interstate travel will be told to turn back, ” he added.

Comm Noor Azam also reminded Muslims in Selangor to limit their gatherings on the first day of Hari Raya to not more than 20 people.

The ultimate goal is to break the virus’ chain of infection, he said.