New border checkpoints being studied

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KUCHING: The police and Immigration Department are jointly looking into setting up more border checkpoints and Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complexes along the Sarawak-Kalimantan border to enhance security.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said he had requested the two enforcement agencies identify strategic locations to establish border posts and CIQ complexes to curb illegal entry.

“I have asked the police and immigration to brief me on the border safety in Sarawak, this is to ensure what happened in Lahad Datu will not take place in Sarawak.

“The key agencies involved are the police, the immigration as well as the (National) Registration Department, because there were cases of illegal entry that happened, who settled down here and had children. Then they would ask for birth certificates and citizenship,” he told a news conference following a briefing by the police and Immigration Department yesterday.

“Even though such situations are under control now, I want the authorities to identify more locations to set up border posts and CIQs along the Sarawak-Kalimantan border to keep all records of entry and departure.”

Wan Junaidi said a 4-km barrier would be put up at each CIQ complex to prevent illegal access, while a 500-metre buffer would be required along the border where plantations are involved.

“I hope the state government will adhere to the policy, particularly those having plantations at the border. We need to identify the buffer, which is why a survey of the border is very important.

“This is also to prevent illegal entry although some of our employers hire foreign workers, especially from Indonesia, for their plantations. But we want these workers to enter through legal means, with proper papers,” he stressed.

He cautioned Malaysian employers against recruiting foreign labour without work permits, adding this would help prevent the exploitation of foreign workers.

“The reputation of Malaysia will suffer if our employers are known to have exploited foreign workers. Therefore, we want employers to work with the government to avoid using illegal foreign workers. Do not resort to exploitation,” he said.