The now defunct Pasukan Peronda Sukarelawan (PPS) or Penang’s voluntary patrol unit, which was declared illegal by the Home Ministry last year, will get a new lease of life come Oct 27.

Former PPS coordinator A Manickam, who will head the new entity, said the uniform unit will be relaunched as Biro Perondaan Sukarela (BPS).

“The state executive council has approved the change of name from PPS to BPS. We will relaunch the unit on Oct 27 in Chai Leng Park on the mainland,” Manickam told Malaysiakini today.

“The new unit will operate under the Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK), under its community relations bureau,” he added.

“Although we are parked under the JKKK bureau, we will operate independently,” Manickam said.

The PPS went through a rough patch last year when 158 of its members were detained for taking part in illegal activities during the state Merdeka Parade on Aug 31.

On Oct 8, the Penang High Court rejected the state government’s application for leave to file a judicial review to challenge the federal government claim that PPS is illegal.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the Penang government would appeal the High Court decision.

Lim insisted that the PPS was legal as it was formed under the state government, like the JKKK, and was not subjected to laws under the Registrar of Societies Act, 1966.

Manickam (photo) said four teams with 20 members each under four constituencies in the state will start operating after Oct 27.

The teams are from Sungai Puyu, Bagan Jermal and Bagan Dalam, which are under the Bagan parliamentary constituency held by Lim.

There will also be a team under the Prai state seat held by Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy. “The Prai team was formed following a major goldsmith shop robbery in the constituency recently,” Manickam said.

No party symbols allowed

The new unit will carry out similar duties as the former PPS in undertaking community service while acting as an emergency response unit during various emergencies.

Manickam said the BPS uniforms would also be purple in colour, like the ones used by PPS, and there would only be minor changes to the logo, which will be revealed during the launch.

He also said the existing JKKK members would not be part of the BPS while former PPS members will not be automatically recruited into the new unit.

“Those who are interested would have to apply officially to BPS and they will be vetted and screened for criminal records. They will also be interviewed before recruitment into the team,” Manickam said.

He added the new entity would continue to work with the authorities and would be prohibited from using any political party symbol during their official duties.

It is learnt that the state currently has about 300 JKKK members and since the committee was formed during the BN rule prior to 2008, the question of illegality of the new unit should not arise.

When contacted, state executive councillor in-charge of the new BPS, Phee Boon Poh (photo), confirmed the launch of the new unit on Oct 27.

Asked about the legality of the unit, Phee replied, “All legal issues have been considered.”