Kuala lumpur: The Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) continues to enhance security control at the country's borders to curb the entry of illegal immigrants and combat smuggling activities on illegal routes or rat trails, despite facing geographical challenges and increasingly complex tactics of cross-border crime syndicates.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said the tight controls were implemented through the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) General Operations Force (GOF) for land borders and the Marine Police Force in the waters, coastal areas, and river estuaries. However, he highlighted that the vastness of the border and challenging terrain such as thick forests, plantations, rivers, and estuaries made continuous monitoring difficult.
"In addition, these cross-border crime syndicates are constantly changing their modus operandi and locations of incursions to avoid detection, in addition to taking advantage of geographical factors and the rather complex cross-border network," he said during a question and answer session at Dewan Negara today. He was responding to a query from Senator Che Alias Hamid concerning the constraints enforcement agencies face in combating rat trails at land borders and river estuaries and the effectiveness of the Ministry of Home Affairs' Border Security Control Master Plan 2026-2030.
Regarding the master plan which was launched on Jan 8, Shamsul Anuar stated that it functions as a comprehensive strategic policy framework to strengthen border security management holistically and systematically. He mentioned that the main focus of the plan is to strengthen the use of modern technology such as smart surveillance systems, drones, radar, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to increase early detection capabilities. This is expected to increase the effectiveness of control in high-risk areas, including illegal crossings at land borders and river estuaries.
"Given that this Master Plan has just been launched, it is still too early to assess its effectiveness comprehensively based on the results of its implementation. However, the implementation of initiatives under this plan will be continuously monitored through the key performance indicators (KPIs) set," he said.
In response to Che Alias' supplementary question on the results of diplomatic negotiations with neighbouring countries, Shamsul Anuar acknowledged that the enforcement approach alone was not sufficient to deal with cross-border crime, which was increasingly complex and transnational in nature. He emphasized that bilateral cooperation through platforms such as the General Border Committee (GBC) with Thailand and Indonesia continued to be strengthened through simultaneous operations, coordinated patrols in hot spot areas, and real-time exchange of intelligence information.
Shamsul Anuar also reported that for the period 2024 to June 2026, PDRM successfully handled 11,636 cases with 15,101 arrests and a seizure value of RM7.510 billion. Additionally, the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) recorded a total of 218,680 arrests as a result of various operations carried out.