KUALA TERENGGANU - Police have identified 66 hotspots in Terengganu for the coming state elections, including four areas under category one which are at risk of seeing physical clashes between party supporters.
Terengganu police chief Datuk Mazli Mazlan said the rest of the hotspots were under category two where there is a risk of verbal clashes and category three involving a possible war of words without the use of offensive language.
"However, assessments will continue to be made from time to time and these figures may increase or decrease,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.
Former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani was reported to have said in June that police had identified 190 locations classified as hotspots in the six states which will be holding their elections soon.
On staff deployment for the polls, Mazli said Terengganu police had applied for reinforcements from the Bukit Aman police headquarters and states which are not involved in the polls.
"For now it is estimated that Terengganu requires some 4,400 officers and men for election duties throughout the state,” he added.
"Terengganu now has about 3,200 personnel, so we need reinforcements from Bukit Aman and other state police contingents to ensure the election process can be conducted smoothly,” he said.
Mazli reminded parties and candidates involved in the polls to apply for permits to hold gatherings at least one week ahead of the event date.
"We do not want a clash of locations or gathering dates among the parties involved. Applications can be made directly to the district police chief of the relevant state constituency.
"All parties are also reminded not to touch on any sensitive issues, especially those involving 3R (race, religion and royalty) throughout the election period,” he said.
The Election Commission yesterday announced that Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan would go to the polls on Aug 12, with nominations set for July 29 and early voting on Aug 8. - Bernama