KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Civil servants who take part in Rukun Tetangga (RT) duty past midnight will get four hours time off the next day. Department of National Unity and Integration director-general Datuk Azman Amin Hassan said that the Public Services Department would soon issue a circular to all government employees.

However, he said the civil servant would only be allowed to do two stints of after-midnight RT duty in a month so he would not take too much time off work.

Speaking to reporters before closing a two-day conference for 250 RT volunteer leaders nationwide, he said they had also asked for an increase in allocation to RT bases.

Currently, there are 50,700 RT volunteers who do patrolling duties nationwide in 1,274 RT centres.

In Kuantan, Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said RT members would get to attend an intelligence gathering course to help them detect early signs of potential danger.

"By giving them proper training and knowledge on how to gather information, they can actually help detect early signs of elements that may jeopardise the unity and safety of the community at large," he said on Saturday.