KUCHING, July 13: The Sarawak government will spare no effort to safeguard the State’s borders, especially unguarded entry points in Tapak Megah and Long Singut, to not only prevent infiltration by illegal immigrants but also that of Covid-19 threats, particularly the Delta variant.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing Jemut emphasised that with the global health pandemic and growing presence of Covid-19 in Kalimantan, the Sarawak government is ever wary of the danger posed by Covid-19, especially the more infectious Delta variant.
“The frequency of PATI (illegal immigrants) infiltrating Sarawak through the unguarded entry points in Tapak Megah and Long Singut requires our government to be more vigilant in guarding these traditional entry points,” he said in a statement today.
Masing, who is also Sarawak Security Control Committee chairman, had visited the proposed General Operations Force (GOF) forward base at Tapak Megah in Bukit Mabong District today to hand over two motorcycles, drones and an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) to the GOF team.
The proposed site is situated 19.5km from the Indonesia border and 265km from Kapit town.
He also stressed the urgency of establishing as many border posts along the Sarawak-Kalimantan border at Kapit Division in the years to come, given that the capital of Indonesia will move to Kalimantan.
“There will be no less than three million people as part of the administrative required manpower moving to the new capital in six years’ time.
“The mixing of various ethnic groups in Kalimantan may cause new social problems. The Kalimantanese may not mix well with outsiders,” he said
Before ethnic problems brew in Kalimantan, Masing pointed out that it was crucial to prepare Sarawak by establishing as many posts along the border to address all important issues related to security that may arise in the future.
“On this security issue, we need the assistance of Putrajaya. After all, the Sarawak-Kalimantan border is an international border between Indonesia and Malaysia,” he affirmed. — DayakDaily
