‘Strong ties between cops, communities vital in maintaining peace and order’
KUCHING: Members of the public should strive to be the ‘eyes and ears’ of the police when it comes to combating crimes.
The cooperation between the people and the force is crucial in maintaining peace and order in the country, says Padawan District police chief Supt Aidil Bolhassan.
He also believes that in upholding peace and security, the local community should keep themselves updated constantly on the happenings around them.
“Every member of the local community, regardless of race and religion, should work together and report any crime happening in their areas,” he said in his opening remarks at the opening of the new Matang ‘ Pondok Polis’ ( police beat base) yesterday.
Aidil also called upon the nongovernmental organisations ( NGOs) to play their part in combating crimes by working together with police through activities such as crime awareness programmes.
According to him, NGOs are the bridge between the community and police.
“They (NGOs) are the key figures when it comes to delivering crimerelated information to the public,” he added.
On another note, Aidil was optimistic that the ‘pondok polis’ in Matang would be beneficial to those residing in Telaga Air, Matang and Moyan in that they would not need to travel all the way either to Batu Kawah or Gita police station to lodge police reports.
“The base is operational from 8am to 5pm daily; it’s under the jurisdiction of the Batu Kawah police station.”
According to Aidil, the idea for a ‘ pondok polis’ in Matang was actually mooted on Jan 27 last year, following numerous public requests for such a facility there.
He also commended Eastbourne Corporation Bhd chairman Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman for renting out a threestorey unit to police for a mere RM1 a month.
It is learnt that the Batu Kawah police station monitors an area covering 359.7km² with a population of 89,590.
In this regard, Aidil said the Matang ‘pondok polis’ would serve as a temporary facility pending the approval from the federal government for a new full-fledged police station in Matang.