Tough challenges ahead for Penang's new police chief

GEORGE TOWN: Penang now has a new state police chief (CPO) as Comm Datuk Arumugam Thaiveegan took over the reins from his predecessor Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye who retired after 40 years of service.
The new CPO will have his hands full in dealing with fresh challenges to the police force, as Penang has become a flood-prone state as well as one where isolated but serious crimes have occurred.
To make it more challenging, several police stations and beat bases are located at low-lying areas and were rendered immobile during last month's major floods, where hundreds of policemen also became victims when their quarters and workstations were overrun by rising water.
Thaiveegan may need to relook the location of such assets, while also finding new avenues to respond to floods if it hampers their ability to deploy fast.
Penang is also a state riddled with the stigma of the money game business, which the commercial crime division has classified as a form of white-collar fraud.
Hundreds of residents here, particularly the young, were alleged to have fallen victims to this new age of generating dubious fast returns from cash investments.
The high profile murder of a businesswoman remains unresolved – months after Ruby Lee Poh Ai was gunned down in cold blood at Lebuh Pekaka 1 here.
Thaiveegan has pledged to do his best and urged support from all quarters.
Aged 58, he is known for his tough stance against underworld groups and was once the state deputy CPO for three years from 2013.
He has extensive experience in combating crime and was also transferred to the Federal Special Branch division in Bukit Aman for five years.
Chuah, on the other hand, had made history as the first CPO to come from the police air wing division and the first helicopter pilot to lead a state police contingent; not just in Penang but also briefly in Malacca, for the Taiping-born officer.
He broke new ground by showing that the police have begun to appreciate the work done by their air wing, who provide crucial air surveillance.
Chuah had been with the air wing unit since 1982, and he rose through the ranks to become its commandant, based out of Kuala Lumpur but with a presence in a few airports in the country.
The wing has six helicopters, six Caravan aircrafts, five Pilatus fixed wings and three Cessna aircrafts, whose primary role is to offer back up via the air to any units on the ground, including the famed VAT 69 police commandos.
It also doubles up as mercy flights, search and rescues as well as responding to natural disasters by landing and flying out of difficult terrain.