KUCHING: Not observing the 500-metre buffer zone on either side of the Sarawak- Indonesia border is a breach of national sovereignty.
Santubong MP Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said while ‘manning every yard’ of the 1,100km border isn’t practical, such is not the reason for offenders to get off with a slap on the wrist.
“There is a rule agreed by Malaysia and Indonesia to create a buffer zone of 500 metres on both sides of the 1,100km long border, but is not observed on either side.
“Plantation owners, NCR land claimants and border dwellers are blatantly disregarding the buffer zone, and there appears to be no enforcement done against such breach of the border agreement,” he told New Sarawak Tribune yesterday when asked to comment on the existence of rat trails along the borders allowing people to travel freely between Sarawak and Kalimantan.
He said the rampant breach of the agreement had resulted in people of both countries not fully understanding the meaning of and observing the sovereignty of the nation.
“Because of that, people from the other side of the border simply ignore the sovereignty of our nation. As if there is no law and no rule. They do as they like,” he claimed.
“Just wait and see during the fruit seasons. If you are travelling along the Serian – Sri Aman Road and stopping to buy durians. don’t be surprised to see the sellers are Indonesians from across the border,” he added.
In view of the risk of spreading Covid-19 by the offenders, Wan Junaidi said such cross-border occurrences had become an issue.
“With Covid-19, it becomes an issue, but whose fault? Remember the rabies, did we not ignore the same fact as well?” he asked.
“I raised this border security with the Chief of Armed Forces three weeks ago. One of the reasons I said to him was the Covid-19 implication in view of the movement control order in Sarawak.
“The Indonesian border community might not appreciate the severity of bringing diseases to Sarawak.”
Unsure of how well observed the lockdown is in Indonesia, Wan Junaidi said it all boiled down to security and safety of Sarawak’s border and of Sarawakians.
