1,780 MAF personnel deployed in Op Penawar to enforce CMCO, TEMCO

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 1,780 Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) personnel mobilised nationwide to assist the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) through Op Penawar will be involved in roadblock duties and multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) patrols in the state.

Chief of Defence Force Gen Tan Sri Affendi Buang said 621 personnel, comprising all three branches of the MAF -- army, navy and air force -- will be involved in enforcing the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya effective yesterday.

He added through Op Penawar, 165 military personnel have been deployed to enforce CMCO and the Targeted Enhanced Movement Control Order (Temco) in Sabah.

"It involves areas especially in Tawau, Semporna, Tambunan, Keningau and Lahad Datu, while 73 personnel were mobilised in Kedah for roadblock duties and MPV patrols around the Pokok Sena Prison areas.

"All the duties involve compliance patrols at public hotspots such as public markets, business premises and supermarkets, and the personnel would be deployed to the current tasks and increased from time to time," he said in a statement here.

In a separate development, he said a total of 12 officers and 60 medical support personnel from MAF Health Service through the Royal Medical Corps (KKD) will be assigned to the MAF Field Hospital in Tawau, Sabah for at least three months beginning Oct 17.

"They consist of six doctors, four medical officers, a pharmacy officer, a hospital administration officer and 62 paramedics and support elements who will work with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and placed under Tawau Hospital management," he said.

The field hospital, in early stages, will operate at the Sports Complex Tawau with a capacity of 100 beds including four beds at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and will provide specialised treatment for cases other than COVID-19 to enable Tawau Hospital to focus on COVID-19 care treatment services.

The capacity of the hospital can also be enhanced at any time including the operating room and the High Dependency Unit (HDU).

The MAF Health Service is also directly involved in the setting up of a temporary COVID-19 treatment centre at the Pokok Sena Prison in Kedah, he said.

At the same time, Affendi said the RMAF also conducted special flights to transport medical equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE) and COVID-19 test samples, using the C130H transporter aircraft last Monday.

This flight is a collaboration between the ministry and the MAF to channel aid and medical supplies as part of efforts to contain the pandemic.

"The flight also took home COVID-19 test samples from Labuan, Kota Kinabalu and Tawau to be sent to laboratories in Peninsular Malaysia for sample testing purposes,” he said.

-- BERNAMA