BALAI RINGIN: The Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) have deployed 300 personnel to flood-hit areas in Sarawak, Sabah and Johor to assist with disaster relief operations.
Defence Force Chief General Datuk Mohd Nizam Jaffar said that an additional 800 troops are on standby, ready to be mobilised if needed.
He said this at a press conference during his official working visit to the Balai Ringin Tactical Headquarters today.
He assured that the soldiers are prepared to respond to disaster operations at any time.
To ensure full readiness to face any flood disaster, he confirmed that all personnel leave has been frozen.
“Leave is not a problem for us as they are privileges, not rights; so there is no issue with freezing leave. Getting leave is like winning the lottery,” he said.
When asked on the operations of border control posts and plans for new posts in Sarawak and Sabah, Nizam confirmed that 59 border control posts remain active, and plans for new control posts would be discussed.
“A special visit with the Ministry of Home Affairs, National Security Council, Ministry of Finance, Sarawak government, and other relevant agencies is expected in May to assess the need for additional posts,” he said.
Nizam explained Malaysia’s current border post ratio to the neighbouring country’s border posts is 1:4, meaning for every Malaysian post, there are four on the other side.
“At the very least, we must match the number of our border posts with their numbers.
“While there are currently five Malaysian-Indonesian joint posts, we will also review the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complexes – whether it should be placed in alignment with theirs,” he said.
