THE recent kidnapping incident in Sandakan, Sabah, and the discovery of the human-trafficking camps in Wang Kelian, Perlis, once again show how porous our borders are, despite the fact that on the eastern coast of Sabah, the government has increased enforcement personnel and added assets to secure the area.
From what I understand, at the Malaysian-Thai border, we have the army and the police General Operations Force (GOF) manning the border under Op Wawasan, with the army at the frontline and the GOF at the second line.
With such operational strategy at the border, one wonders how the human-trafficking syndicates were able to operate in Wang Kelian with such ease and without detection from the authorities.
Whatever happened to our intelligence operatives at the border? The Special Branch has opened a pandora box when they alleged that 80 per cent of the enforcement authorities at the border are working hand-in-glove with smugglers and human-trafficking syndicates, and this intelligence has been compiled over a period of 10 years.
With this kind of intelligence, what did the Special Branch do? Was it disseminated to the higher authorities of the police force? This is indeed puzzling!
The home minister is suggesting that the armed forces take charge of border security. Are we certain that by deploying the army to take charge at the border, this is the best option to stop the rot?
With due respect, would it be safe to say that the army personnel would not be tempted to accept bribes? It is always the case that whenever you are deployed to a certain place for a longer term than the norm, there will be a tendency for the personnel to be over familiar with the people in that area and complacency will creep in. As the adage says, “familiarity breeds contempt”.
I am sure the government may have better options to solve this problem vis-a-vis the security at the border. The sovereignty of our beloved country is of utmost importance.
Datuk Wee Beng Gee,Petaling Jaya, Selangor