JOHOR BARU: The police have reminded political parties contesting in the Johor state election to abide by the Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP).

       State police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat also told them to wait for the SOP guidelines for the state elections before starting their campaign.

       “We know that some parties have started organising events and if they are found breaching the SOP, police will issue them a compound on the spot.

       “The SOP has yet to be announced but please do not be a carrier for Covid-19 as there are already more than 2,000 cases in Johor,” he told a press conference at the state police headquarters here yesterday.

       Comm Kamarul Zaman said Johor police were looking to add more manpower to beef up operations throughout the election period.

       He said they were looking at adding 5,000 police officers and personnel to bring the total to about 11,000.

       “The figures might change as there are more than 4,700 voting streams and we need to place our men at each location to ensure a smooth process.

       “We already discussed the matter with Bukit Aman and the public need not be worried as the police will ensure it will be a peaceful polls,” he added.

       Comm Kamarul Zaman said Bukit Aman would also be deploying a special team on polling day to make sure no one threatens or disturbs voters.

       The Election Commission has set Feb 26 as nomination day, March 8 for early voting and March 12 as polling day for the state election.