KUANTAN, Sept 25 — Pahang police are ready to dispatch more personnel for duty at Pulau Tioman and Genting Highlands to ensure SOP compliance when these destinations are re-opened to tourists in October.

Pahang police chief Datuk Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said they would also study and learn from the experience of police stationed at Pulau Langkawi, Kedah, which has opened its doors to tourists since Sept 16.

"There are also plans to use drones based on the situation and suitability.

"There will be tight monitoring not just at the travel bubbles but also at popular public spots because Pahang is now in Phase Three of the National Recovery Plan (PPN) where there are no more roadblocks between districts,” he said during a press conference after checking on SOP compliance at the popular Teluk Cempedak beach and vaccination centre (PPV) at Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Silver Jubilee Hall here today.

On Tuesday (Sept 21), Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri announced that Pulau Tioman and Genting Highlands were among three new destinations to be re-opened as travel bubbles on Oct 1.

Meanwhile, Rahim advised those involved in the tourism industry not to become complacent with the SOP in the over-exuberance of welcoming back tourists, so as to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks.

Rahim also did not dismiss the possibility of proposing a quota system at popular tourist spots to avoid over-crowding, such as the one implemented at Teluk Cempedak, to facilitate physical distancing measures.

Commenting on the over-crowding incident at a PPV yesterday morning which had gone viral, Ramli said that it was due to the crowd making their exit at the same time as teenage students from outstation queueing up for walk-in vaccination.

However, Ramli said the over-crowding issue had been resolved with cooperation from the authorities as well as parents of the teenagers, and he expressed hope that those coming in for the special walk-in vaccination which ends tomorrow, follow the prescribed SOP. — Bernama