KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department and police have been instructed to assist 34 students detained for crossing the border via illegal routes in Rantau Panjang to obtain valid travel documents.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the approach was taken to ease matters for the students, who are residing in Thailand but attending school in Rantau Panjang, while also taking into account their educational needs.
“Yesterday (April 15) I instructed the Director-General of Immigration (Datuk Zakaria Shaaban) and the Kelantan police chief (Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat) to assist these children in facilitating their travel documents,” he said.
He said this at a press conference on the Mekar Didik Initiative Documentation Handover Ceremony & Kaunter Lorong Programme at Sekolah Bimbingan Jalinan Kasih here on Thursday.
Saifuddin said that while there are close family and social ties in border areas such as Rantau Panjang and Golok, all cross-border movements remain subject to the law and require valid travel documents such as passports or border passes.
“Any movement across the border must have valid travel documents. This is important because border areas are exposed to various cross-border crimes, including drug smuggling, firearms, human trafficking and other contraband,” he added.
He said the government acknowledges the need for local communities living along the border to move between the two countries, including for schooling purposes.
As such, he said border gates had previously been opened earlier to facilitate students’ movement to school, while facilities were also adjusted according to the community’s needs.
However, he said police would conduct investigations to determine why the students used illegal routes, including possible documentation issues or other factors.
At the same time, he stressed that the main threat at the national border was smuggling syndicates, including drug trafficking networks, which were also believed to have exploited students and animals in their operations.
“In this case, we are helping them obtain proper travel documents. A border pass costs about RM10 and can be used for easier movement across the border,” he said.
Previously, the media reported that 34 Malaysian students residing in Thailand were detained while crossing via the illegal Jambu crossing point to attend school in Rantau Panjang on Sunday morning (April 12).
Mohd Yusoff said all the students, aged between seven and 16, were later released on police bail on Monday night.
