“Operasi Payong” or “Ops Payong”, for short, is an initiative started by the Perak Police Contingent Headquarters and Ipoh City Council to ensure safety and security for residents of Ipoh.
The operation is derived from the Malay word “payong” which means umbrella, as is evident from the large blue umbrella held in place where the operation is conducted.
The operation, which began on Wednesday, January 25, is in both new and old parts of Ipoh. It oversees 44 hotspots throughout the city. The areas covered include places frequented by the public and tourists alike. Some of the locations are Jalan Yau Tet Sin, Jalan Leong Sin Nam, Jalan Raja Ekram, Jalan Sultan Idris Shah, Waller Court Flats and Kinta Heights, to name a few.
Operational hours are from 7am till 7pm, a period of 12 hours. The men work on two shifts, one from 7am to 1pm and the other from 1pm to 7pm. The posts are maintained seven days a week including public holidays. Two to three officers are assigned to each post, depending on the availability of men.
With the conduct of this static operation, incidences of illegal parking, snatch theft, parking touts (jaga kereta) and other petty crimes have seen a drastic reduction.
Some 160 officers from the Ipoh Police District, the Perak Immigration Department, the Perak Welfare Department, Tourism Perak and Ipoh City Council are directly or indirectly involved in the operation.
“I feel a lot safer seeing police personnel when I am in the bank here,” said Mrs Chong, 69, a retired teacher to Ipoh Echo when met at the Ipoh Garden Maybank branch.
“I hope the authorities will continue with the operation indefinitely,” she concluded.
Khaleeja
