KOTA BARU: The army, Fire and Rescue Department, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and People's Volunteer Corps (Rela) are ready to assist the police during the coming monsoon season.
Caretaker Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said their assistance was needed as a majority of police personnel would be involved in tasks related to the 15th General Election (GE15).
"We realise that many policemen will be sent to states in stages to assist in the handling of the election.
"More than 120,000 policemen of various ranks will be involved in GE15 and we need additional manpower during peak hours or if floods occur during the election period.
"That's why we decided to seek assistance from other agencies," Hamzah told a press conference after a briefing on flood preparations at the Kelantan police headquarters here today.
Present were Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Wan Abdul Aziz, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani and state police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun.
Hamzah said the additional manpower comprises 18,500 from the army, fire and rescue department (15,000), MMEA (10,500) and Rela (4,400).
He said during the meeting, he was informed that all assets including boats, lorries and helicopters were ready to be deployed during the monsoon season.
He said a total of 5,500 hotspots had been identified during the monsoon season including in Sabah and Sarawak.
"The 5,500 include 595 in Kelantan. Apart from that, we also have identified 186 possible water surge locations nationwide," he added.