Sepang: The Vehicle Convoy Programme in conjunction with the 69th Merdeka Month Celebration and Flying the Jalur Gemilang organised by the Sepang district police headquarters (IPD) this year has been expanded with the concept of reaching out to the community, especially the younger generation, in an effort to instill the spirit of independence and strengthen racial unity.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Sepang district police chief ACP Norhizam Bahaman said the programme, which was previously implemented at IPD level, involved about 50 vehicles including motorcycles and cars. "This year I am bringing out (the convoy programme) to reach out to the community because we want to see the spirit of the police and the community not being separated."
"This is what we are implementing, starting with primary schools where we see them happy when we come. And we distributed about 800 flags to students," he told reporters after a friendly session with the residents of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Dengkil near here today. Earlier, Norhizam, who also participated in the programme, flag off a convoy of about 50 vehicles starting from IPD Sepang towards SJKC Dengkil, a distance of 14 kilometres.
He said the selection of the school was made based on the composition of students consisting of various races including Malays, Chinese, Indians and Orang Asli, thus making it a suitable platform to instill the spirit of unity from a young age. "We chose a school whose students are multiracial. There are Malays, Chinese, Indians, and Orang Asli as well. So, when I think about it, this is the spirit of Merdeka that we want,' he said.
Commenting on the issue of upside-down flag installation in several states, he hoped that the same thing would not happen in Sepang and assured that patrol members would monitor the installation of flags in the district. "I will ensure that our patrol members ensure that all flags that are installed are not flown upside-down, whether intentionally or unintentionally. It really shouldn't happen," he said.
He said action would be taken if such an act occurred and could cause annoyance among the community, while informing that so far no such case had been reported in Sepang. "In Sepang, Alhamdulillah, from the previous years there has been none. Because we have a community here, I see that racial integration is quite strong," he said. Several photos and videos showing allegations of upside-down flag installation in several states have gone viral on social media, thus sparking polemics among the community.