Penang police chief Ayub Yaakob says politicians must stop dividing the people in the delivery of community policing services, which should be open to all regardless of political affiliation.

He said certain quarters were trying to undermine community policing by preventing members of political parties, other than their own, from joining the teams.

penang crime police lim guan eng event pc 260908 ayub yaakob "Everyone should be treated equally. In a residential area, there are all kinds of people, some from Umno and others from DAP," Ayub told Malaysiakini .

"Residents should be encouraged to join these teams regardless of their membership of any political party, as the programme benefits everyone.”

Asked to identity the politicians concerned, he would only say: "Please write about this. It is an important matter."

However, Ayub added, politicians were not the only ones dividing the people as “certain political parties” were doing so as well.

Several community policing teams have been set up, for example, in Bayan Baru and Paya Terubongg. Such initiatives are usually spearheaded by the state assembly representatives.

Ayub said he welcomed public support and participation in the move as this has attributed to a drop in the state’s crime index rate by 27.1 percent last year.

He advised politicians, as elected representatives, to treat all constituents equally.

‘No BN or Pakatan government’

"They stand or contest under their political banners during elections. (When) they win, they have to serve everyone equally in their constituency, not just members of their political parties" he said.

Ayub said his comments also applied to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is also DAP secretary-general.

azlan When he is in office, Lim must act as the head of government for every citizen, and there should be no reference to a BN or Pakatan Rakyat government when referring to a particular project or situation.

"There is no BN or Pakatan government. There are only three (levels of) government: federal, state and local," Ayub said.

"Please follow the constitution... there is no mention there of a BN or Pakatan government.”