The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has warned Penangites and those travelling to Penang during this Chinese New Year period to get ready for worse traffic congestion than usual as over 50,000 additional vehicles are expected to enter the state during the festive holidays. As reported by national news agency Bernama, Penang police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said that besides those returning to their hometown in Penang for the Lunar New Year, many tourists are also coming to the state to take advantage of the long holiday period.
Shuhaily further said that traffic congestions are expected throughout the state, especially in the city and town centres. Furthermore, PDRM will also be conducting a more intensified scheduled monitoring and inspections in these areas.
The Penang police chief stressed,
“Seven roads that have been identified to face traffic congestion and also are hotspots in Penang are Jalan Teluk Air Tawar-Jalan Bagan Luar (Seberang Perai Utara), Jalan Perusahaan Perai-Jalan Kulim (Seberang Perai Tengah), Jalan Besar Simpang Empat (KM12-KM32), Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway/Jalan Ayer Itam, Jalan Ayer Itam-Paya Terubong, Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah and Jalan Tun Dr Awang,”
Shuhaily spoke to reporters yesterday after the launching of the state-level ‘Op Selamat 17’ which takes effect yesterday up until 6 February 2022. Various police units will be collaborating in Penang police’s anti-crime and safe home campaign period in conjunction with the festive holidays.
He elaborated that the focus on Op Selamat this year is to reduce the road accident rate and to ensure unsupervised homes are safe. Over 6,000 PDRM personnel are on duty in the state and that even though their leaves are not frozen during this period, PDRM have limited the number of leave days that they can take.
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