PONTIAN: Johor police have made all the necessary preparations for the Tanjung Piai by-election next month.
“Our preparation is at its best,” said state police chief Datuk Kamarudin Md Din.
“We have conducted special courses and meetings to make sure all elements of the force are aware of what needs to be done in any scenario.
“I am very pleased and satisfied with the preparedness of all our elements.”
He said this after witnessing a simulation involving a riot breaking out during a vote counting process at Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim here.
In the simulation, a group of dissatisfied supporters created a ruckus when the decision did not go their way, which then escalated into a full-fledged riot.
Police reacted by deploying their Light Strike Force (LSF) personnel to take control of the situation before sending in their Public Order Riot Unit (PORU) and then the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) when the situation escalated further.
The simulation ended when the supporters dispersed and the culprits were apprehended by the police.
Kamarudin said a post mortem would be conducted to review the force’s response and action during the simulation.
“If there are anything that can be improve then we will take the necessary steps,” he said.
Asked whether police were expecting such incidents to happen during the by-election, Kamarudin said no.
“This simulation is the worst case scenario that can happen. It is impossible for it to happen because we have taken the necessary steps to separate the supporters,” he said.
Kamarudin had previously said that 241 officers and 1,469 policemen would be mobilised for the by-election.