Azhar (in front) standing at ease with the Regiment 511 of the Territorial Army personnel before departing for Sibu.
KUCHING (Feb 4): A total of 126 personnel from Regiment 511 of the Territorial Army from Kuching Ria Camp, consisting of six officers and 120 volunteers, have left their base in Kuching as they head to Sibu this morning to aid frontliners there in their fight against Covid-19.
Third Infantry Brigade Commander Brigadier General Dato Azhar Ahmad said the deployment would help enforce the Movement Control Order (MCO) in districts in Sarawak’s central region to stem the spread of Covid-19.
“They (Regiment 511 of the Territorial Army) will be assisting the Ninth Infantry Brigade in Sibu in carrying out Op Penawar in compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for about 14 days in view on the increase in Covid-19 cases in Sibu, Kapit and Song.
“The personnel deployed are selected personnel and they are the first from Regiment 511 to be sent outside the Third Infantry Brigade area taken from battalions located in Kuching, Sematan and as far as Sri Aman to perform duties to assist the police and the Ministry of Health (MOH),” said Azhar.
Azhar (fourth left), Abang Mohamad (second left) and Mohd Nadzri (right) during the flagging-off of Regiment 511 of the Territorial Army from Kuching Ria Camp this morning.
He said this after officiating the departure ceremony of Regiment 511 of the Territorial Army to Sibu at Dewan Tan Sri Hamid Bugo and witnessed together by the Regiment 511 Territorial Army commander Brigadier General Abang Mohamad Abang Marzuki and his deputy, Lieutenant Colonel Mohd Nadzri Ismail at Kuching Ria Camp this morning.
He added that the deployment will help the Ninth Infantry Brigade who are in need of more personnel to carry out their duties.
“Most of Regiment 511 of the Territorial Army personnel will be placed in eight roadblocks areas that have been identified by the Ninth Infantry Brigade commander who will brief them of their duties and missions that they are to perform while in Sibu,” he said.
When asked if the Ninth Infantry Brigade is short of their regular army personnel, he said most of them have been deployed for Op Awas to guard the Sarawak-Indonesian border.
“We are not short of manpower (in Sibu) as most regular army personnel have been deployed to the Sarawak-Indonesian border, so we will assist them with monitoring during the pandemic. We are ready to help each other in the Malaysian Army (ATM) and in this case, we will help the Ninth Infantry Brigade.
“This is an honour actually (for Regiment 511 of the Territorial Army) whose area is under the jurisdiction of the Third Infantry Brigade from Tanjung Datu right up to the border with Ninth Infantry Brigade, which is Saratok,” he said.
Meanwhile, Abang Mohamad said this is the first time that Regiment 511 of the Territorial Army have been deployed outside the area of responsibility of the Third Infantry Brigade.
“This also proves the ability and readiness of the Regiment 511 Territorial Army at the highest level. I am proud of the involvement of our officers and personnel to assist in the MCO in Sibu. They are all well trained and I think they are capable in executing their duties diligently,” he said.
In Sarawak, there are two regiments under the patron of the Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg, which are the Regiment 510 Territorial Army under Brigadier General Datu Abu Bakar Marzuki (covering areas from Sibu to Lawas) and Regiment 511 Territorial Army under Brigadier General Abang Mohamad Abang Marzuki (covering areas from Tanjung Datu to Saratok).
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