Damataries (left) hands over duties to Sudirman (right), witnessed by Mancha – Photo by Lee Teck Kiong

KUCHING (March 18): Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mancha Ata has announced the upgrade of four district police headquarters (IPDs) in Sarawak to Category B.

He said the upgraded IPDs, located in Lundu, Kota Samarahan, Serian, and Sri Aman, also include the promotion of their respective district police chiefs to the rank of Superintendent.

“This is just the beginning. I hope more IPDs will be upgraded in the future,” he said after a handover-of-duties ceremony at IPD Lundu today, where outgoing Lundu police chief Supt Damataries Lautin officially passed his responsibilities to his successor Supt Sudirman Kram.

While no additional personnel or facilities have been allocated to the upgraded IPDs for now, Mancha noted that facilities at IPD Lundu will gradually be enhanced due to its close proximity to the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.

Responding to questions about discussions with the Sarawak government on improving facilities for other IPDs, Mancha said no talks have been held yet so far.

However, he assured that plans to upgrade more police headquarters to Category B – especially older ones – are already in progress.

“The planning to upgrade our IPDs is indeed underway,” he stated.

During the event,  Mancha witnessed the formal handover of duties, which follows Damataries appointment as the new Kota Samarahan district police chief.