IGP: Proposal For Military Forces To Take Full Control Of Border Security Not Finalised

KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 (Bernama) -- The proposal to let the military forces to take full control of border security is still under discussion and has yet to be finalised, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said. He said many questions were raised during the discussions, especially on the legal aspects of the proposal. "For example, in the case of smuggling activities, the military personnel have no power to arrest, so the police still need to be stationed together. "I think a lot of other problems will arise, so we are still discussing on it," he told a press conference after launching the digital high-definition version of the film 'Bukit Kepong' here, Tuesday. The proposal was made by Home Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in June as a drastic move to cripple institutionalised corruption at Malaysia's border. On another development, Khalid said more police officers would be sent to interrogate the suspects of the human trafficking case, who were detained by the Thai authorities in the country. He said so far no Malaysian suspects were handed over to Malaysia. "They have yet to complete their investigations...we don't want to disturb them," he said. Khalid however did not revealed how many Malaysian suspects were detained by the Thai authorities. In May, the country was shocked by the discovery of 139 graves by the authorities in 28 transit camps built by human trafficking syndicates along the Malaysia-Thailand border in Wang Kelian. A total of 106 bodies have been found to date. Khalid said three people, believed to be Rohingya refugees, were arrested in Johor Baharu, capital of Malaysia's southern state of Johor, to assist investigation into the discovery of the transit camps. "We believe that they are among the victims who had been detained at the camp, they are being investigated, we are also excited to know what really happened, give us some time," he said. In ALOR SETAR (in northern Kedah state), Kedah police chief Zamri Yahya said the authorities at border points would not compromise with any quarters involved in smuggling activities. Those include individuals who were hoping to enter and exit borders simply by 'raising their hands' to the security personnel, he said. Zamri said police would always tighten security at borders to prevent smuggling activities. -- BERNAMA