MAF Foils Illegal Rohingya's Attempt to Enter Malaysia

Chief of Defence Force (CDF) Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi bin Buang RMAF has confirmed that as a result of tightening national border control and patrols, the MAF has successfully detected and thwarted illegal immigrants (PATI) attempts to enter Malaysia on 16 April 2020.

Through aerial maritime surveillance, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), using C-130H aircraft, detected the presence of a illegal Rohingya boat 60 nautical miles west of Langkawi Island and informed the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN).

Aerial View of illegal Rohingya boat off Langkawi

Responding to the information, the RMN has directed the deployment of two vessels, KD LEKIU and KD LEKIR, to the designated location for monitoring and verification purposes. A Super Lynx helicopter from KD LEKIU was flown to get a clear picture of the passengers of the boat before being escorted out of the national waters by the RMAF.

About 200 Rohingya were found aboard the boat, consisting of men, women and children. The success of the air maritime surveillance operation is a joint effort between the RMAF, RMN and also the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) in safeguarding the security and sovereignty of the country's waters.

The overall control of the country's borders on land and inland will continue to be tightened by the MAF. These include cooperation from other security and enforcement agencies such as the control of the Malaysian border - Kalimantan in Sarawak including Teluk Melano to Lubuk Antu and Limbang (Malaysia - Brunei) border, Ba'kelalan and Bario which are now tightened with patrols and roadblocks.

The control of the land borders also involves strong cooperation between the MAF and the Malaysian Police (General Ops Force). The strengthening of border control are attempts to prevent the spread of new clusters of COVID-19 outbreaks that may be brought by PATI groups trying to infiltrate the country.

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ATM PATAHKAN CUBAAN PENDATANG ASING TANPA IZIN (PATI) MEMASUKI PERAIRAN NEGARA

Panglima Angkatan Tentera, Jeneral Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Hj Affendi bin Buang TUDM dengan ini mengesahkan hasil dari usaha memperketatkan kawalan dan rondaan persempadanan negara, ATM telah berjaya mengesan dan menggagalkan cubaan Pendatang Asing Tanpa Izin (PATI) - Rohingya dari memasuki Malaysia pada 16 April 2020.

Boat carrying illegal Rohingya

Melalui pengawasan maritim udara, hasil tindakan pantas oleh Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia (TUDM) dengan menggunakan pesawat C-130H telah berjaya mengesan kehadiran sebuah bot PATI-Rohingya di kedudukan 60 batu nautika barat Pulau Langkawi dan memaklumkan kepada Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM).

KD LEKIR and KD LEKIR deployed to inspect the vessel

Bertindak balas dari maklumat yang diterima tersebut, TLDM telah mengatur gerak dua buah kapal iaitu KD LEKIU dan KD LEKIR menuju ke lokasi yang dimaklumkan bagi tujuan pengawasan dan pengesahan. Sebuah helikopter Super Lynx dari KD LEKIU telah diterbangkan bagi mendapatkan gambaran jelas para penumpang bot berkenaan sebelum diiring keluar daripada perairan negara oleh kapal TLDM.

Di dapati kira-kira 200 orang PATI Rohingya berada di dalam bot tersebut yang terdiri daripada lelaki, wanita dan kanak-kanak. Kejayaan operasi pengawasan maritim udara adalah usaha bersepadu di antara TLDM dan TUDM serta turut melibatkan Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia (APMM) dalam menjaga keselamatan dan kedaulatan perairan negara.

Operasi kawalan keseluruhan persempadanan negara baik di daratan mahupun perairan akan terus diperketatkan oleh ATM. Ini termasuk kerjasama dari agensi-agensi keselamatan dan penguatkuasaan yang lain seperti kawalan persempadanan daratan Malaysia - Kalimantan di Sarawak antaranya di Teluk Melano hingga ke Lubuk Antu dan persempadanan Limbang (Malaysia - Brunei), Ba'kelalan dan Bario yang kini turut diperketatkan dengan rondaan dan sekatan jalan raya. Kawalan persempadanan daratan tersebut turut melibatkan kerjasama padu antara ATM dan PDRM (PGA) – (seperti gambar yang dilampirkan).

Semua aspek pengukuhan kawalan persempadanan ini merupakan usaha bagi menghalang penularan kluster baharu wabak COVID-19 berkemungkinan dibawa oleh kumpulan PATI yang cuba mencerobohi negara.