Desmond Davidson

SARAWAK police are making early preparations to tighten security along the state’s 1,000km-long border with Kalimantan as they brace for a spike in social problems, smuggling and the trafficking of people once the Indonesian capital is relocated to Borneo.

“We foresee there will be a lot of social problems,” state police commissioner Ramli Din told reporters in a media conference today.

He said one of their planned actions is to beef up police presence along the border.

Earlier today, Ramli chaired a meeting of senior police officers to identify potential issues the state would face and possible actions to take.

“We have to make early preparations to anticipate what are the problems that will arise later,” he said, adding their fears include an upsurge in drugs smuggling, contraband and firearms.

“We are now doing our brainstorming.”

He said the police are also at the moment getting feedback from district chiefs on issues that could pose a potential threat.

“We are listening to all the district commanders who are close to the border on what they have to say.

“Then we will come up with our action (plan).

Ramli said they are looking into beefing up the number of personnel, mainly drawn from men of the General Operations Force (GOF), at the border.

The GOF operates out of 10 border posts, some shared with the army.

Indonesia is to start moving its capital city from Java from 2024, according to its minister of national development planning Bambang Brodjonegoro last June.

President Joko Widodo was to make an announcement on the timeline and the exact location of the new capital city at the end of last year.

Meanwhile, Ramli said eight policemen face dismissal after they had been convicted by the courts for drug abuse.

Another five have been barred from duty after they were also found positive for drug use.

“They have been charged in court but the decision on them is pending.”

Ramli said the eight policemen, who have been suspended from duty, have now been referred to the disciplinary committee to decide on their fate.

“Most probably, they will be dismissed.”

He said the Ops Blue Devil operation, to expose policemen on drugs, has had some positive impact on discipline since it was launched, resulting in a slight drop of policemen caught for drugs. – January 9, 2020.