BAGAN DATUK: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will raise a report on an interview by a Malay newspaper yesterday on the weaknesses in border security to the National Security Council (NSC) next Tuesday.
He said the interview with Chairman of the Enforcement agency Integrity Commission (EAIC), Datuk Yaacob Md Sam, should be viewed seriously so that the problem would not prolong.
“There are border areas in the country which need sophisticated equipment such as drone, use of radar and closed circuit television camera (CCTV) for monitoring against intruders.
“I want to give a positive response to the interview because I have raised the matter several times at meetings, especially when security at the border is raised,” he said.
He told reporters this after presenting Deepavali contributions to more than 800 recipients in the Bagan Datuk parliamentary constituency here yesterday.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said currently, only 35 per cent of the country borders were fenced up with either concrete wall or barbed-wire.
“I agree with the EAIC chairman that smugglers not only passed through the ICQS ( Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security) Complex, but also through the barbed-wire fencing which is not properly maintained,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid said he would discuss with Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein because the border areas, like in Kelantan, came under the jurisdiction of the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM), as well as monitored by the General Operations Force (GOF).
As such, he said, coordination among all quarters should not only be periodically, but operational at all times as being implemented in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone.
“So, it is not impossible if I can together coordinate with the Menteri Besar of Kelantan, Perak, Kedah and Perlis because the border problem is shared by the federal government and the state governments through federal agencies which I coordinated,” he said. — Bernama