KUALA KEDAH, Sept 12 — Police will be stricter with monitoring to ensure tourists comply with the standard operating procedures (SOP) set in implementing the tourism bubble on the resort island beginning this September 16.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim said the Langkawi district police headquarters would mobilise and might even increase personnel to ensure SOP compliance checks were conducted more effectively.

"Although there will be a tourism bubble in place, all visitors must comply with every SOP set… Those who wish to come to Langkawi need to have police approval as well.

"They need to get approval at their place of residence, for instance, if they stay in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, they need to get a written permission from Brickfields (police station),” he told reporters when visiting an area under the enhanced movement control order (EMCO), here, today.

He said the approval letter issued by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) for the pioneer travel bubble programme in Langkawi was only needed by tourists using land routes.

Mazlan said air travellers did not require a written permission from PDRM as announced by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin earlier today.

Meanwhile, he said the issue of fishermen in Kuala Kedah who could not bring out their catch from the EMCO area has been resolved.

"There is no issue for the fishermen to bring out their catch as their catch can easily go bad, so we do allow them to bring it out,” he added.

The media recently reported that the earnings of around 1,000 fishermen in Kuala Kedah were affected when they could not go out to sea and bring out their catch following enforcement of the EMCO in their area starting September 6.

The EMCO in Kuala Kedah, being enforced until September 19, involves the entire area in the sub-district, except for three villages, Kampung Teluk Talipon, Kampung Baru Bakar Kapur and Kampung Padang Garam. — Bernama