KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 (Bernama) -- Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has directed the Immigration director-general and Kelantan police chief to assist 34 Thai pupils found to have crossed the Malaysia border illegally.
He said the directive was made yesterday to facilitate the pupils’ travel documentation if they face documentation issues that force them to use illegal routes to attend school.
"We do not want to follow the usual process of arresting them under the Immigration Act, opening an investigation paper and imposing a compound.
“Instead, we will assist them in terms of documentation so that they have valid travel documents,” he told a press conference after the presentation of documentation under the Mekar Didik initiative and the Kaunter Lorong Programme at Sekolah Bimbingan Jalinan Kasih here today.
He said the Malaysia-Thailand border in Kelantan, spanning more than 100 kilometres from Rantau Panjang to Jeli, has its own unique characteristics due to the close familial ties between communities on both sides of the border.
Saifuddin Nasution said the ministry had previously taken a proactive step by meeting the pupils’ request to open the border gates earlier to facilitate their journey to school, but at the same time national security remains a priority as border areas are highly exposed to various cross-border crime threats.
“We must be aware that threats such as the smuggling of firearms, migrants, drugs and controlled goods are real. In fact, there have even been cases where pupils were used as mules to smuggle drugs across the border.
“That is why the role of the security forces is to safeguard the nation’s borders so they are not exposed to these threats. However, in cases involving pupils, we will handle them as prudently as possible to ensure their access to education is not affected,” he said.
He urged border communities, in particular, to use legal routes for their own safety as the cost of obtaining a border pass is only RM10 and police would further investigate the actual reasons the pupils chose illegal routes to cross the border.
Media recently reported that 34 Thai pupils and students who were found to have entered the country through an undesignated route at an illegal jetty near Rantau Panjang were detained last Sunday for documentation processing but were released on police bail the same day.
-- BERNAMA
