The newly-established Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department was officially unveiled during the 209th anniversary of the formation of the police force here.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who launched the department – Bukit Aman’s 10th – said it would be vital in reducing the number of fatalities on the road.
“A total of 489,606 road accident cases were recorded last year resulting in 6,193 fatalities.
“If such fatalities occur five times (in the next five years), then it will be about the same size as the National Stadium. It is definitely too high,” he said during the Police Day celebrations yesterday.
He also hoped that the new department would be able to enforce traffic laws more effectively.
On the terrorism front, the Prime Minister said the police would spearhead the Counter Messaging Centre aimed at combating the threats of the Islamic State (IS) and other terror groups.
“Our country is very lucky despite all the terror attacks in Istanbul, Ankara, Paris, Jakarta and Brussels. Malaysia is still safe and this is due to the sacrifices made by the men and women of the police force.
owards safer roads: Najib and Khalid launching the Go Green PDRM initiative as Dr Ahmad Zahid looks on at the 209th Police Day celebration.
“It (terrorism) is a real threat and we cannot take it lightly. Thus we will establish the Digital Counter Messaging Centre, starting April 1,” he said.
The messaging centre is Malaysia’s initiative to monitor and counter terrorism and extremist views in South-East Asia.
It will be a point of reference and synchronise efforts in countering terrorism effectively.
The Kuala Lumpur-based office will not only be used by Malaysia, but by Asean countries along with Australia and New Zealand.
Najib also touched on the welfare of all police personnel, which he said, would not be forsaken.
“I was told by the Deputy Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) that we need to add more housing for the police.
“We will look into the matter as the welfare of all police personnel is important,” he said.
At the same event, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the police force was implementing a five-year plan to improve its quality and the enforcement of the law.
“This will move forward our efforts systematically and more efficiently to make the police force achieve ‘world-class policing’ come 2020,” he said.
The IGP also pledged to counter the threat of terrorism.
“We will pool all our resources in combating terrorism in the country. The IS or any other terror groups have no place here,” he said.
At the event, the Prime Minister also launched the police Blueprint 2.0, which is a “five-year roadmap to achieve an overall reduction of 33,700 tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2020”.
“The police are serious about their green efforts. The launch of Blueprint 2.0 is a testimony of our continuous commitment to plan, implement, measure and deliver on our green promises,” said Khalid.
