6 Temples in Makassar Guarded by 111 Police Officers on Chinese New Year Eve

A number of temples and viharas located in the Chinatown area of Makassar, South Sulawesi, were guarded by 111 police officers on Chinese New Year (Imlek) 2577 eve, Monday (16/2).

The security measures were implemented to provide a sense of safety and comfort for Chinese-Indonesian residents celebrating Imlek.

“We are ensuring that all security procedures are running optimally and that every place of worship is in a safe condition ahead of the worship services and celebrations,” said AKBP Rise Sandiyantanti to reporters.

Meanwhile, the Head of Public Relations Sub-section of the Makassar Port Police, Aipda Adil, said that his unit had mapped out locations predicted to experience an increase in visitors during the Imlek celebrations.

“Security is focused on a number of temples and viharas within the jurisdiction of the Makassar Port Police, such as Xian Ma Temple, Kwang Kong Temple, Ibu Agung Bahari Vihara/Macho Temple, Dharma Loka Temple, Buddha Maitreya Vihara and Tridharma Vihara,” he said.

Before the public held worship services at the temples and viharas, the police had carried out sterilisation operations by deploying the Bomb Squad (Jibom) team from the South Sulawesi Regional Police Mobile Brigade.

“Sterilisation was conducted to ensure the areas are completely safe and free from potential security threats,” he said.