Johor brings back foot patrols to boost tourist safety

JOHOR BARU: Police have reinstated 'omnipresence' patrols at seven key locations in the city centre ahead of the Visit Johor Year 2026 campaign.
Johor police chief Datuk M. Kumar said the initiative, which resumed on June 14, involved 80 personnel conducting high-visibility foot patrols, engaging with business operators and visitors in popular tourist areas during peak hours.
"These assignments cover public hotspots and are aimed at bolstering public confidence in the state's safety," he said at a press conference at the state police headquarters today.
Kumar said the patrols were designed to project a safe and welcoming image for tourists, investors, and traders.
Officers will patrol on foot, visit business premises and engage directly with members of the public.
Motorcycle patrol units and mobile patrol vehicles will continue their usual rounds.
Kumar said public response since the relaunch had been encouraging, particularly from business owners, with peak-hour deployments timed to coincide with high footfall during office hours, lunch breaks and weekends.
"For instance, Bazar Karat (Johor Baru flea market) operates in the evenings until late at night, and that's when our presence is most noticeable. So far, no crime reports have been lodged in the areas under the omnipresence initiative," he said.
Separately, Kumar said that police were investigating a case involving the misuse of his identity through artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
"We are working with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to trace the source. No suspects have been identified as yet," he said.
The case emerged following the circulation of a doctored video showing a man resembling Kumar allegedly receiving financial aid from an individual named 'Datok Abdul Malik'. The clip was confirmed to be fake and manipulated using AI.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Barnama

3 hours ago

• Barnama

Nurul Izzah Calls For Comprehensive Action To Combat Online Child Sexual Exploitation

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar has called on the authorities to swiftly implement comprehensive measures to tackle the increasingly alarming crime of online child sexual exploitation. In a Facebook post today, she stressed that all forms of cyber threats, particularly those targeting children, must be addressed firmly and without delay. Her call came in response to the shocking discovery of a Facebook group dubbed 'Group Budak2 Sekolah Rendah', which allegedly shares sexually explicit content involving primary schoolchildren and has over 12,000 members. 'It is understood that several existing legal provisions can be used to prosecute perpetrators of online sexual crimes against this group, and the move is very much welcomed. 'However, there are still many gaps that need to be addressed, weaknesses that should be improved, and follow-up actions that must be implemented immediately to protect those most vulnerable to this threat,' she said in the post. Nurul Izzah said perpetrators of sexual crimes were becoming increasingly sophisticated, including by using technology and the dark web to cover their tracks. In this regard, she proposed that a structured, firm and comprehensive effort be initiated by government agencies, including the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM). She also urged the Ministry of Communications and MCMC to present a clear, transparent and effective monitoring mechanism to assess the level of digital protection for children. In addition, she called on KPWKM and PDRM to release public reports on both current and previous cases related to online sexual crimes in the interest of transparency and full accountability to the people.

The Star

3 hours ago

• The Star

Nurul Izzah calls for immediate govt action to combat online child sexual exploitation

PETALING JAYA: Nurul Izzah Anwar has called for immediate and coordinated government action to combat online child sexual exploitation. The PKR deputy president described the issue as a 'national disgrace' that demanded collective responsibility from the authorities and society. Her remarks come in the wake of the exposure of a Facebook group, Group Budak2 Sekolah Rendah, which had amassed more than 12,000 members who were allegedly sharing and passively viewing sexually explicit content involving primary school children. "This is not just an alarming incident; it is a national disgrace. "Shutting down the group is not enough. We need immediate, coordinated and decisive actions,' she said in a statement Sunday (June 22). She urged agencies such as the Communications Ministry, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), police and the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to intensify efforts against digital predators preying on children. She called on the MCMC and the Communications Ministry to disclose their current monitoring mechanisms and to demonstrate their effectiveness in detecting child exploitation online. She also urged police and the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to release public updates on the recent case and similar cases that have remained outside public scrutiny. Nurul Izzah also demanded a progress report on the implementation of the Online Safety Act and a briefing in Parliament on the effectiveness of the D11 sexual crimes unit, including additional funding to enhance its operations. "Malaysia must upgrade its systems to provide early warning for the public. "To protect our children, we must emulate global initiatives like the Europe-Latin America Initiative for the Safety of Children and Adolescents, a cross-continental police cooperation network tackling child exploitation online,' she said. Nurul Izzah also proposed public access to the Child Sexual Offender Registry, which was established in 2019, not for public shaming but to safeguard communities. She urged the Education Ministry to strengthen its health syllabus with digital safety awareness topics. "We applaud social media activists and influencers such as Mekyun and others for bravely exposing online sexual exploitation to raise public awareness. "It is time to band together,' she said. The former Permatang Pauh MP also spoke of her own experience as a victim of online threats, when she received gang rape threats earlier this year. She said the individual was formally charged with 11 counts of posting indecent and obscene comments about her on Facebook. Nurul Izzah stressed that while legal tools exist to tackle online sexual crimes, many gaps remain in terms of enforcement, awareness and prevention. According to official 2023 data, child sexual crimes increased by 26.5%, while child pornography cases surged by an alarming 139.3%. 'These are not just numbers. They are a collective cry for immediate, systemic reform, not just well-worded laws that gather dust,' she said. She announced that PKR is launching a grassroots campaign to focus on raising public awareness, creating safe spaces for children and strengthening community partnerships with NGOs and educational institutions. 'Parents, teachers, religious leaders, NGOs and the public must rise to protect our children from this growing digital threat,' she said.

Malay Mail

5 hours ago

• Malay Mail

After paedo group on Facebook exposed, Nurul Izzah calls for urgent action over child sexual abuse material in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar today urged for immediate and coordinated action from government agencies to tackle the growing threat of online child sexual exploitation. Following the recent exposure of a Facebook group allegedly sharing explicit content involving primary school children, Nurul Izzah said the incident highlighted the urgent need for systemic reform and swift enforcement in cases of online abuse. 'This is not just an alarming incident; it is a national disgrace,' she said in a statement, referring to the now-defunct Facebook group, which reportedly had more than 12,000 members. She called on the Ministry of Communications and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to reveal their monitoring mechanisms and assess their effectiveness in detecting such crimes. 'The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and the police must release public reports on this case and previous similar cases that have remained hidden from public scrutiny,' she said. She also called for a detailed implementation update of the Online Safety Act to be tabled in Parliament. Nurul Izzah further urged for progress updates on the special D11 sexual crimes unit, including additional funding, and proposed that Malaysia replicate regional policing networks such as Elipsia to bolster cross-border efforts against online child abuse. Elipsia refers to the Europe-Latin America Initiative for the Safety of Children and Adolescents network, an international police cooperation across 11 Latin America countries and seven European countries to jointly confront sexual abuse and exploitation of minors on the internet. She also called for greater public access to the Child Sexual Offender Registry, enhancements to school health education curricula to include online safety, and a community-level approach involving local leaders and NGOs. 'The statistics are grim — child sexual crimes rose by 26.5 per cent in 2023, while [child sexual abuse material] cases surged by 139.3 per cent,' she said, adding that these figures demanded more than just legislation, but effective, ground-level action. Nurul Izzah urged parents, teachers, religious and community leaders, and social media users to work collectively — saying they can no longer afford to remain passive observers. 'In the face of a growing digital threat, we must rise as protectors — resolute, responsible, and unafraid to confront the rot at its roots,' she said. Last week, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said the Facebook group sharing images of minors have been shut down after the MCMC contacted Meta to disable the Facebook account. Teo also said that the MCMC and the police had launched Op Pedo last year, resulting in the arrest of 13 individuals and the discovery of more than 40,000 child sexual abuse materials and other pornographic content.