'Viral police notice on interstate travel was not meant for public'

 

A notice posted on the door of a police station in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur which has gone viral on social media since yesterday was only supposed to be a verbal reminder to officers.

Cheras district police chief Mohamed Mokhsein Mohamed Zon said he only wanted his officers on duty to be more careful when processing applications from the public for interstate travel.

However, according to him, the message was mistakenly understood by personnel at one of the police stations, where they then proceeded to print it out before displaying it to the public.

"That notice should not even be up there in the first place. It was just a reminder to them to check carefully, to not let people cheat us.

"I reminded my officers to look carefully into each application for interstate travels because we do not want incidents like what has occurred recently to happen again.

"I do not want that at the end of the day, police are blamed because someone gave false information in their application," he told Malaysiakini when contacted today.

The notice stated an order by the district police chief requiring all applicants to detail their day-to-day activities during their planned interstate travel and provide proof to the police. The cops were also not allowed to entertain any application that was not supported by any proof.

What made the notice went viral was the reason cited by police, which says: “This is following the recent abuse of interstate travel permission by Instafamous, celebrities and artistes.”

While it did not mention any specific case, it is understood that the notice refers to recent incidents involving several celebrities who landed in hot water after posting photos of themselves indulging in leisure activities when travelling to other states on work permits.

Mokhsein also spoke about how the cops are in a dilemma when they process applications from the public.

"Police always get the blame. We’ll be criticised if we do not approve their application. But when we allow, we’ll also be blamed."

It was learnt that the notice has since been taken down. - Mkini