Hudallah (third left) and Mohamad Sazili (third right) join their men in a group photo.
KUCHING (Aug 16): The reactivation of the Military Joint Post (Gabma) is a significant move meant to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the Malaysian Army and the Indonesian National Army-Land Forces (TNI-AD).
According to Malaysian Third Infantry Brigade commander Brig-Gen Mohd Kamil Abdul Latiff, Gabma stopped operating in early 2020 following the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) announced by the Malaysian government to curb the spread of Covid-19.
He said this during the launch of ‘Awas Keris Parang Operation’ under Gabma at the Operations Planning Committee (JPG) Camp in Tebedu, Serian near here day.
Under this operation, three army posts in Sarawak, namely the JPG Tebedu, JPG Biawak (in Lundu) and JPG Lubuk Antu, would operate in respective collaborations with their counterparts in Indonesia: the Entikong post, the Sajingan/Aruk post, and the Nanga Badau post in Kalimantan.
Specifically, eight personnel from the Fourth Royal Armour Corps Regiment (4KAD) would be posted to each of the three TNI-AD posts, while the Infantry Battalion (Yonif) 645/Gardatama Yudha (GTY) of TNI-AD would despatch 10 of their personnel to each Malaysian army post in Sarawak.
“The Gabma-Op Awas Keris Parang is a part of the Malaysia-Indonesia border control operation, involving 24-hour control and monitoring through walking and vehicle patrols, all meant to curb and prevent cross-border smuggling and other criminal activities,” said Mohd Kamil at the event, where 4KAD commanding officer Lt-Col Mohamad Sazili Hussain and Yonif 645/GTY commanding officer Lt-Col Hudallah SH were also present.