Kelantan: Disguising themselves as villagers by wearing batik and sarong is one of the tactics used by police officers in Kelantan to arrest individuals who illegally enter the Malaysia-Thailand border in the state. The unexpected measure proved effective when 37 individuals were arrested in 30 cases since the recent Hari Raya Aidiladha celebration.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat said disguising as villagers allowed police to move unnoticed among suspects who entered through the rat trails. “If we were in uniform, the illegal immigrants would run away on seeing us. So we change our approach by putting on mufti. The aim is to arrest immediately, not just prevent,” he explained.

He highlighted the challenge posed by the extensive 136-kilometre border, which is too wide to be monitored with the existing strength of personnel, especially when the area controlled by the PGA is only around 50 km. These comments were made during a press conference after the Kelantan PDRM Monthly Assembly for June at the Kelantan police contingent headquarters.

Mohd Yusoff also emphasized that there was no issue of corruption in the operation, and officers were now instructed to go undercover and make immediate arrests, particularly in ‘hotspot’ areas identified as frequent unauthorized crossing points.

In addition, he addressed and denied the viral claim about packet cooking oil from Malaysia being sold openly in southern Thailand, noting that investigations found the allegations to be untrue and merely old news that had been circulated again.