The primary goal of POMAN 1971 is to ensure the preservation of public order with minimum reliance on force. Its specific objectives include:
Containment, overwhelming physical presence, and forced dispersal.
Based on the manual's guidelines, public order operations typically follow these steps: public order manual poman 1971
Using physical obstructions, shields, and vehicles to block access to sensitive areas.
You are watching POMAN 1971.
But walk through a modern protest zone. Watch the officers lock arms in a skirmish line. Listen to the amplified warning: "You are ordered to disperse. This assembly is unlawful." See the orange canisters of OC spray arc into a crowd.
POMAN 1971 is not just a tactical guide; it is legally bound to the statutory powers of the state. The manual relies on several key pieces of legislation: The primary goal of POMAN 1971 is to
To activists, POMAN represented the "Black Box" of Malaysian policing—a set of rules that protesters never saw but were always subject to. The "story" often told by legal scholars is how this 1971 manual remained the primary reference point for public order for nearly 40 years, largely unchanged despite the evolution of international human rights standards. The Transition to modern policing