By Peter Sibon
SERIAN, Dec 15: Serian MP Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem has proposed in Parliament that a security border post be urgently built at Kampung Mongkos.
He said having the security border post at Kampung Mongkos is vital as it would allow security forces to be stationed there to better monitor the numerous ‘jalan tikus’ and ‘jalan gajah’ along the porous border with Kalimantan, Indonesia.
“We need to have a border post built at Kampung Mongkos so that our security personnel will be in closer proximity to patrol the porous border with Kalimantan,” Riot told DayakDaily today.
Yesterday, Riot told Parliament that the proposed site for the border security post at Kampung Mongkos would be close to the border with Kalimantan as it is only separated by a trench.
“It is there that we should station our security forces as its location is very strategic,” he stressed.
At the same time, Riot proposed that the General Operations Force (GOF) post at Bunan Gega be strengthened with the presence of a platoon and not just rely on its current strength consisting of just a section headed by an officer with the rank of Inspector.
Riot stressed that the border stretch from Mongkos to Tebedu area could not be sufficiently monitored by the current number of GOF personnel stationed in Bunan Gega alone.
“We need to strengthen our border security in order to prevent illegal border crossings. The presence of our security forces along the border could prevent the spread of Covid-19 and rabies,” he said.
On a related issue, Riot who is also the Special Envoy to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan highlighted in Parliament that he disagreed with the suggestion made by Bukit Aman to reduce the number of Sarawakian-born police personnel serving in Sarawak from the current 70 per cent to 40 per cent.
Riot was commenting on a statement by Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) director of management Datuk Ramli Din who during a working visit to the state on Nov 20, was reported to have said that 70 per cent of police personnel in the state were Sarawakians, which exceeded PDRM’s target of having 40 per cent of locals serving in their home state
Besides Riot, other Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) leaders including Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi had also voiced disagreement with reducing the ratio of Sarawakians serving in their home state. — DayakDaily
