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MELAKA – Road fatalities in Melaka from January to March this year amounted to 48 cases, an increase of 50% compared with 32 cases reported for the same period last year.
State Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department head Amran @ Mohamad Zaki Omar, said the number was worrying, and police would intensify awareness and road safety campaigns for motorists through Op Selamat 18 in conjunction with the upcoming Aidilfitri celebrations.
“We will provide advice and guidance to motorists to practice prudent driving when returning to their hometown for the Aidilfitri holidays, reducing risk,” he said.
He said this to reporters after attending the Op Selamat 18 Tour and the Go to Safety Point programmes in Semabok here today.
These programmes, under the department and in collaboration with Petronas, will make stops at selected stations in the southern zone, starting in Johor before moving to Melaka and ending in Negri Sembilan, to remind the community and motorists to always abide by traffic rules.
Commenting further, Amran said that during the upcoming Aidilfitri holidays, Melaka police will place officers and personnel in each district in focus areas to disperse traffic in case of jams.
“We also have four ‘jam squad’ teams, consisting of one officer and four personnel, who will be mobilised to a location in the event that they receive any complaints posted on various media.
“We do not have hotspots, but the department will monitor the state’s main roads, including along the Lebuh Alor Gajah-Melaka-Jasin and Lebuh Sungai Udang-Paya Rumput-Alor Gajah (SPA), as accidents often occur in these locations,” he said.
He said police also expected more than 100,000 vehicles to enter Melaka in conjunction with the Aidilfitri holidays, and so had no plans to mount roadblocks at entry points to avoid severe congestion unless it involves a criminal case. – Bernama, April 24, 2022