Martek To Monitor Safety At Election
KUALA TERENGGANU, Dec 31 (Bernama)– The police have introduced a one-stop operations centre known as the Tactical Headquarters (Martek) to ensure security throughout the whole election period.
State deputy police chief Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman said, the formation of Martek at four state constituencies in Kuala Terengganu was the idea of the Terengganu police in line with the wish of Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan.
"Martek is being introduced for the first time and will act as a one-stop centre, comprising of an operations room, office, interrogation room, bedrooms for police officers and personnel, a dining hall, surau, laundry room and toilets.
"Police officers and personnel were previously placed in separate locations and the operations room would be in another place, which made it difficult to work together. With the existence of Martek, operations would be more coordinated with faster timed responses," he said when met by Bernama at his office here Wednesday.
He said the four Marteks were located at the Kuala Terengganu Municipal Council Football Field (Bandar constituency), a field in Pengadang Baru (Wakaf Mempelam constituency), the Chendering Police Station (Batu Buruk constituency) and Pantai Batu Buruk (Ladang constituency), and each Martek is headed by a zone officer with more than 1,000 personnel.
Jalaluddin said every zone officer, also acting as field officer, was appointed from among the district police chiefs.
He said the zone officer and personnel were responsible for various matters in the constituency, including peace and safety in the area.
"The Marteks can help to prevent incidents such as the one that happened at the Permatang Pauh by-election in Penang, and we hope that it will foster better relationships between the police and the people," he said.
Jalaluddin said the police would also set up 19 temporary police kiosks in strategic areas in the Kuala Terengganu Parliamentary constituency, which would act as the eyes, ears, and mouth for the authorities.
He added that two to three policemen would be stationed at the 24-hour kiosks until the end of the election, where they will monitor the safety and also vehicles entering and leaving town.
— BERNAMA
