KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) made 80 arrests involving 561 illegal immigrants this year, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Ahmad Maslan.
He said out of this figure, 275 were from Indonesia, 129 from Myanmar, 117 from the Philippines, 13 each from Thailand and Afghanistan, 12 from Cambodia and two from Vietnam.
“To ensure the continued safety of our country’s waters from intrusion and outside threats, the MMEA will intensify
surveillance and enforcement operations, especially in the hot spots.
“Among the hot spots are Batu Pahat, Tanjung Pengelih, Pengerang, Sungai Rengit and Mersing in Johor, Tanjung Gemuk (Johor-Pahang border), Port Dickson in Negeri Sembilan, Klang in Selangor and Tawau in Sabah,” he said in reply to a supplementary question from Senator Datuk P Subbaiyah.
Subbaiyah had wanted to know whether it was true as claimed that the low level of enforcement-expertise integration had enabled illegals to easily enter Malaysian waters.
Ahmad said the MMEA’s Sea Surveillance System (SWASLA) was equipped with nine radars that were installed along the western coastal areas of Peninsular Malaysia.
“The system’s capacity is further improved by installing cameras for more effective detection of suspected illegals along the coastal waters for follow-up action by MMEA patrol teams,” he added.
Earlier to the original question from the same senator on measures taken by the government to curb the entry of illegals, Ahmad said the MMEA was fully committed to this effort through enforcement operations, and legal and political means. – Bernama