By Peter Sibon
KUCHING, Sept 2: There is no more issue regarding border security as the Sarawak Border Brigade has been set up, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing.
He said what needed to be done now was to build a border highway to monitor the security along the border.
“I was informed that the Sarawak Border Brigade consisting of five battalions have been established to safeguard Sarawak’s borders.
“Whether Sarawak Rangers are part of them, I don’t know. However, I’m very happy to note that the Malaysian army is forward-thinking and the decision is in line with Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s move to shift Indonesian administrative centre to Kalimantan.
“Therefore, the border highway needs to be built ASAP (as soon as possible) for security reason,” said Masing.
He was responding to calls from various quarters for the federal government to revive Border Scouts and Sarawak Rangers to provide security along Sarawak-Kalimantan border.
The issue of revival of Border Scouts and Sarawak Rangers was brought up by Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) vice-president Datuk Liwan Lagang in a statement last week where he urged the federal government to revive the defunct Border Scouts and Sarawak Rangers in an effort to beef up security along the border.
Liwan had said it was paramount to have locals in the security forces such as the Border Scouts and Sarawak Rangers, who were familiar with the local terrains.
The suggestion to build the border security road was mooted by Masing himself in the wake of Indonesia’s decision to move its capital to East Kalimantan.
According to Masing, the federal government must build the road along the border for defence purposes and that the cost of the proposed road with the length of 1,000 kilometres must be borne by the federal government.
He estimated the cost to be RM15 billion and the road will stretch from Batang Ai right up to Ba’Kelalan. — DayakDaily
