KUALA LUMPUR: The government is studying some new areas at risk of being sneaked into by certain groups, besides the Malaysia- Thailand and Malaysia-Kalimantan (Indonesia) border areas for better security control.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said these areas would be monitored by the Border Intelligence Unit (Unit Risikan Sempadan or URS) which before this, had the role of enhancing intelligence capability along the country’s border areas, specially against smuggling of prohibited goods and arms, and human trafficking.
“We will study the physical aspects but not only the electronic monitoring (electric fencing) of areas which have often been infiltrated, like along the Malaysia-Thailand border and Sarawak-Kalimantan border.
“This support unit (URS) will first identify the critical locations and then study again the other areas,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby, here, yesterday.
Wan Junaidi said this in reference to the case of 53 illegals, believed to be Bangladeshis and Rohingya refugees being arrested by the Padang Besar Anti-Smuggling Unit (UPP) at the Malaysia-Thailand border in Perlis on March 1.
The UPP had reportedly believed that the illegals had been brought in by a human smuggler where they climbed over the security fence at night and then separated into groups to make detection by the authorities difficult.
Wan Junaidi said Malaysia’s borders with two small countries, namely Singapore and Brunei, were not at high risk compared to its other border areas. — Bernama