TUMPAT: The installation of Concertina wire (barbed wire) along the 1.8km stretch from Pos Ibrahim Pencen to Muhibbah bridge in Rantau Panjang, Pasir Mas, needs to be expedited to curb ongoing cross-border criminal activities.
Commander of the Southeast Brigade of the General Operations Force (GOF), Datuk Nik Ros Azhan Nik Ab Hamid, said residents frequently used the route to cross the border and smuggle goods illegally.
He said that previously, the installation of Concertina wire had been carried out at an illegal base near Bukit Lata, which borders the town of Mundok in Thailand, but smugglers had damaged it.
"We are concerned that smuggling activities, especially drugs, firearms and illegal immigrants, will become more rampant if the security barrier is not installed immediately.
"The Kelantan government has also agreed to this proposal, and we have previously submitted a similar proposal to the authorities in Thailand," he said after a working visit with the Deputy Secretary-General (Sectoral) of the Ministry of Economy, Datuk Luqman Ahmad, to the Malaysia-Thailand border here on Sunday (Aug 17).
During the visit, he also requested that the Home Ministry improve facilities and control posts along the border to suit the assignment of GOF members.
"Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and surveillance drones are very much needed. There are two posts that have been fully completed so far, and we hope they can be handed over to GOF as soon as possible.
"The GOF has also applied for the construction of eight more new control posts, especially in hotspots such as Pulau Tengkorak and Sungai Mentua in Pengkalan Kubor. At the same time, we also propose to build a post at the illegal Syed Agil base near Rantau Panjang so that the presence of personnel on duty there can deter crime," he said.
Nik Ros Azhan said this move proves the government's concern in tightening border control, but at the same time, the local folk also need to change and no longer depend on smuggled goods for income.
Previously, Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat said 128 illegal jetties along Sungai Golok, starting from Pengkalan Kubor to Rantau Panjang would be demolished by local authorities after receiving permission from the state government. – Bernama
