KUCHING, July 24 — A more aggressive approach will be adopted by the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) if the spread of the second wave of Covid-19 in Sarawak records a worrying increase.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Datuk Mazlan Mansor said the police would not compromise with the actions of a few individuals who deliberately ignored the safety aspects and standard operating procedures (SOP) provided to prevent the spread of the epidemic.

"Not only compounds, we will carry out arrests because we still have laws that allow us to arrest those who deliberately do not care and neglected all aspects of the SOP which have been drawn up,’’ he said.

He said this to reporters after handing over certificates of appreciation of the Inspector-General of Police to 60 officers and personnel of the 11th Battalion General Operations Force (PGA) of the Sarawak Brigade here.

He said such action had to be taken to ensure that all efforts made by the government in dealing with the Covid-19 epidemic were not in vain.

According to Mazlan, the compound statistics imposed on the public who violated the SOP also showed an increase due to the aggressive and continuous monitoring by the authorities.

"(Efforts to ensure compliance with the SOP) is a matter that we must redouble so that the society, especially here, does not take lightly the situation during the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic,” he said.

On the proposed implementation of the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) in Kuching, he said the matter would be decided by the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee while the police would help monitor and impose stricter controls on the implementation of SOPs by all parties involved.

Touching on the ceremony he attended, he said the award was given to the members and officers involved for successfully rejecting bribes and maintaining the integrity of PDRM.

‘’The officers and personnel rejected RM163,000 in bribes, and this is clearly a big amount, from 2009 to 2020,’’ he said. — Bernama