TO enhance security in their neighbourhood, the Taman Tasek Putra Rukun Tetangga community in Batu Gajah, Perak, has taken the initiative to patrol seven housing areas on horses, Sinar Harian reported.
They have been doing this since January as a crime prevention measure in the area which has more than 700 houses.
The Rukun Tetangga area chairman Shahril Ridhwan Jalaludin said three horses – Fateh, Melor and Shammus – together with 20 members of the voluntary patrol scheme have been assigned to go round the 5km radius of the area.
“We got permission to bring in the horses and they are housed in a special stable.
“We are monitored by a certified horse trainer, and there are four residents, including me, who have the authority and ability to handle the horses,” he said.
Shahril Ridhwan added that the effort has received the full support of the police because it indirectly helped the authorities to monitor the area.
The scheme’s chief Khairul Anuar Othman said horse patrols will be easier to enter areas that are difficult for motorcycles to go to, such as crossing drains and narrow places.
“For festive seasons, especially during Hari Raya, almost 70% of the housing estates are empty, with people returning to their hometowns.
“There had been cases of house break-ins and we hope this new initiative can help overcome such crimes,” he said.
> Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza said new outfits, cookies and delicious food are no longer the priority for her this Hari Raya Aidilfitri because with age catching up and after becoming a wife and mother, her focus is now more on ukhuwah (unity) and self-reflection.
“Yes, Hari Raya is a celebration of victory over lust, challenges and so forth, but it is also a time for us to carry out self-reflection.
“What we see in other people’s strengths and weaknesses, we use it to better ourselves.
“When we are given more, help those in need; and when we don’t have more, do not be quick to complain but double our efforts instead,” she told Berita Harian.
The renowned singer also said she wished to instil the practice of charity in her two children.
“I have taught them that wherever they go, if they see poor people, they need to give them some money to lessen their burden,” she said.
On her best Raya moments as a child, the 44-year-old songstress remembered fondly walking around her village to collect duit raya and playing firecrackers.
“We used to sleep at 3am carrying out preparations the moment the date of Hari Raya was announced,” she recalled.
● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.
