KUCHING: Efforts will be intensified to track ‘local coordinators’ or planners who are behind the smuggling of undocumented immigrants into the state.
The army will work closely with the intelligence agencies and police in bid to nail down the culprits, said newly promoted Army Eastern Field Commander, Lieutenant General Datuk Mardzuki Muhammad.
“We’ll take firm action. These ‘local and ground coordinators’ have been aggressively smuggling immigrants into the state to find work and so on,” he said after paying a courtesy call on the Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
Mardzuki’s visit on Abang Johari was the first after his promotion as the new Army Eastern Field Commander. He replaces Lieutenant General Datuk Mohd Zakaria Yadi.
He said since last year, the Malaysian Armed Forces had been trying to add 14 more border control posts as compared to the 12 existing ones along Sarawak/Kalimantan border.
“The figure is still a far cry from the ones manned by the Indonesian Nasional Army (TNI) numbering a total of 89 border control posts along the whole stretch of the border,” he added.
Mardzuki said the use of assets in border control operation in the state should be optimised aside from reformulation of strategy.
He said the entire stretch of Sarawak’s border with Kalimantan, Indonesia is close to 2,000km, adding this was one of the factors that made monitoring of the smuggling of undocumented immigrant into the state difficult.
With more border control posts, he hoped the problem could be effectively reduced.
Mardzuki said Sarawak state government would provide assistance in terms of logistics to army personnel serving at the border.
These include assets such as land transport and provision of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones which would help to enhance effectiveness and increase the areas of coverage of perimeter surveillance by the personnel on duty,” he said.
On another note, he said monitoring of assets such as the drones could be modified to be in the form of motorcycles or vehicles to facilitate long distance mobility and bigger areas of coverage.
With the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic, Mardzuki said a more aggressive approach would be taken in implementation of the border control operation as it involved health issue apart from to ensure the people’s safety.
