Lockdown: Police step up roadblocks; quiet city centres

More roadblocks were set up and security personnel were tasked with ensuring the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the total lockdown, during the Movement Control Order 3.0, were complied with in an effort to break the COVID-19 pandemic transmission chain.

The tasks, being carried out with the Malaysian Armed Forces, involve 55,000 police personnel with 800 roadblocks set up throughout the country under two concepts -- fixed-location and mobile roadblocks.

Simultaneously with the increase in enforcement, a nationwide survey by Bernama found that most of the main roads and city centres were relatively quiet, and it could be said that there was a 70 per cent decrease in road traffic.

However, congestion was still seen at roadblocks due to thorough inspections by the security forces.

Sentul district police chief ACP Beh Eng Lai said there were quite a number of vehicles on the road from 7 am to 10.30 am.

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All those on the road had approval letters from their companies, he said, adding that there were three roadblocks under the administration of the Sentul district police headquarters, namely in Jalan Kepong, Jalan Sentul Pasar and in Bandar Manjalara.

For Selangor, which is "ground zero" of the pandemic, a survey around Shah Alam found that traffic flow was not congested and most of the business premises that were not under the essential services sector were not operating.

Selangor police chief Datuk Arjunaidi Mohamed said the number of existing roadblocks have been increased from 20 mobile roadblocks and 47 fixed roadblocks to a total of more than 100 daily to ensure SOPs were complied with.

A similar situation was seen in Sarawak and Kota Bharu (Kelantan) where the survey found that the traffic flow was smooth and relatively quiet, even though Sarawak was celebrating Gawai Day, today.

Additional roadblocks were also set up in Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Pahang, Terengganu, Perlis and Sabah.

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In KEDAH, police not only increased roadblocks but also completely closed 12 alternative roads in the state to prevent inter-district travel, while in PERLIS two "rat trails" were closed to prevent people from entering the state without police permission.

In PERAK, Perak police chief Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said there were 21 roads closed to prevent inter-district and inter-state travel.

Meanwhile, despite the total lockdown, there are still those applying for daily travel permits. For example, Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan said his department received 2,148 applications for daily travel permits yesterday and of that number, only 105 were rejected.

The enforcement of the total lockdown until June 14 involves a ban on inter-state and inter-district travel, and the closure of business premises after 8pm. There are also restrictions on movement -- travelling within a 10-kilometre radius only and only two people allowed in one vehicle.

However, there are exceptions for those who have vaccination appointments as they do not need to obtain a letter of permission from the police to go to the vaccination centres.

For movement involving emergencies, approval permits must be obtained from the police while those working in the permitted sectors need to obtain a letter from their employer and the relevant ministry.

--BERNAMA