ALOR SETAR, July 2 — The Kedah Police will step up monitoring at 20 locations that are categorised as hotspots during the state election (PRN) to be held soon.

State police chief Datuk Fisol Salleh said the move would facilitate the police personnel duty and ensure the safety of all parties.

"The 20 locations are in the 36 state constituencies in Kedah...but these hotspots do not mean there will be a big fight or extreme events to happen, don’t misinterpret.

"Identifying these hotspots will also make it easier for us to increase the number of officers in the areas concerned,” he told reporters when met at the Kedah Police Contingent Headquarters Aidiladha Sacrificial programme here, today.

Last June 13, then Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani was quoted as saying that the police had identified 190 hotspots in the six states involved in the coming state elections.

Selangor has the highest number of hotspots, with 70, followed by Terengganu (66), Kedah (20), Negeri Sembilan (16), Kelantan (16) and Penang (two).

These locations are classified as hotspots as they have the potential to trigger provocations that could affect public order, he told reporters. — Bernama