KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Aman will enhance the functions of nearly a dozen General Operations Forces (GOF) posts to run as police stations, says Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.

       The Home Minister said they would start the initiative with 11 posts in Sabah and Sarawak.

       "The move would make it easier for people in rural areas to deal with the authorities.

       "Nine posts have been identified in Sabah, and two others in Sarawak will be upgraded.

       "If the initiative is a success, we will expand it nationwide," he said after launching the GOF post enhancement initiative at the Police Training Centre here on Monday (Dec 6).

       Also present were Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani and his deputy, Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim.

       Hamzah said the initiative would be carried out immediately and the 11 posts will be monitored for a six-month period before the enhancement is expand it to 170 other GOF posts nationwide.

       "We have received a total of 14 reports from the public involving people in rural areas who were affected by the absence of facilities to request for police assistance especially during emergencies.

       "The people in Sabah and Sarawak face difficulties geographically in terms of the distance between their homes and police stations," he said, adding that the launch was part of the Keluarga Malaysia 100 days aspiration.

       He said among the problems identified were that those in rural areas faced difficulty accessing technology and information, especially when it came to reporting births and deaths, as well as reporting incidents and disasters.