JOHOR BAHRU, Oct 13 — The Johor police contingent are assisting the state government in monitoring the haze through the activation of its 13 district control centres (DCC) across the state.

Johor police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said the activation of all DCCs aims to monitor and coordinate the haze situation in collaboration with the state government and its related agencies.

He said the activation, which covers all 13 police districts in Johor, will enable continuous monitoring.

“We activated all the police DCCs yesterday to monitor the situation in their respective areas, allowing us to work with the state government to address the haze affecting Johor.

“The activation by the Johor police is consistent with similar measures taken by the Johor Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) to ensure the current haze issue is effectively managed,” he told reporters after the monthly assembly held at the Johor police contingent headquarters here today.

Ab Rahaman said that despite the haze, core police duties concerning the areas of public order and safety, traffic control, mobile patrol vehicle (MPV) operations and motorcycle patrol units will continue as normal.

However, he said police will prioritise the health and welfare of police personnel on the ground, where the use of face masks will be made mandatory.

“The Johor police contingent, including all its districts, will still carry out the regular policing duties according to schedule as such tasks are vital for maintaining the peace and order of the state.

“We will supply the face masks to every police personnel in all districts to ensure their welfare.

“At the same time, any police personnel experiencing health issues will be exempted from field duties.

“These are among the additional measures we are taking to manage the current haze situation in Johor,” he said.

Ab Rahaman also acknowledged the challenges and risks to police personnel in the field should the Air Pollutant Index (API) readings worsen.

He said that the state police can hopefully mitigate the issue with rotational duty to minimise the risks.

“So far, there have been no records of police personnel suffering from serious or chronic health issues due to the haze,” he said, adding that he has also instructed all district police chiefs to constantly monitor the health of their officers.

It was reported yesterday that the air quality worsened nationwide, with Johor having seven stations in the unhealthy API range in the afternoon.

An API reading of 101 to 200 is categorised as unhealthy.

Pasir Gudang recorded the highest reading at 174, followed by Kota Tinggi at 170 and Pengerang at 166. The others were Larkin at 160, Batu Pahat at 156, Tangkak at 152 and Kluang at 151.