Over 1,300 vehicles attempting interstate travel told to turn back

A total of 1,333 vehicles attempting interstate travel nationwide were ordered to turn back on Sunday, says Bukit Aman Department of Internal Security and Public Order director Abd Rahim Jaafar.

He said there were some who tried to go through the roadblocks with permission forms that did not have a signature and stamp from the police.

“Some of them were trying their luck… perhaps thinking policemen would overlook and so on,” he told reporters yesterday after inspecting the roadblock in Tanjung Lumpur in Kuantan.

He said 361 roadblocks had been implemented following the inter-district and interstate travel ban. The roadblocks involve more than 6,500 police personnel nationwide.

He said police had detected various tactics used, including the use of work passes, to get past the roadblocks.

Asked about the actions of those who set fire to the barriers and barbed wire erected by the police following their rage at the closure of “rat trails”, he said all parties should abide by the law.

“Some are dissatisfied and take action on their own, so I urge them to please abide by the law. These steps are taken solely to break the Covid-19 chain, so people are asked to be patient,” he said.

The media had reported that as a result of being angered over the closure of rat trails, some residents in Besut, Terengganu, had burnt police-erected barriers and barbed wire on Sunday.