KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 ― Lack of enforcement at the Malaysia-Thailand border is believed to be among the causes for the easy smuggling of firearms into Malaysia which leads to the increase in cases involving assassinations in the country.

Director of the Institute of Crime and Criminology at the Help University  Datuk Akhbar Satar conceded that monitoring the long and vast border that the country has would be difficult, although the security forces has been keeping a close watch on it.       

"Thus to overcome this problem, the authorities like the Royal Malaysian Police, the Royal Malaysian Customs and Immigration Department need to increase the number of personnel with integrity at the border.

"Just recently I went to Hatyai, Thailand, and I saw that the authorities took their duty lightly, where they allowed foreign individuals to get in and out of the country without any inspection,” he told Bernama.   

Akhbar said if the attitude continued, it was not impossible that Malaysia could become a hub for smuggling activities.

"I suggest that the government limits the duration of duty for each personnel in charge at the border to not more than three years to avoid them from getting close to the smugglers to the extent of receiving bribs from the smugglers,” he said.      

Akhbar said he had also received information that there were some firearms sellers from the neighbouring country who offered delivery services to any location requested by the buyers. 

He said those buyers were normally members of secret societies, thugs and criminals especially assassins who smuggled through the areas at the borders of Sungai Golok and Rantau Panjang Kelantan as well as Padang Besar and Wang Kelian, Perlis.               

He said the assassins in the country were those from the semi-professional category who were skillful in handling firearms and carried out their task openly, which in turn made them easier to be traced from the footage of closed circuit camera and the public witnesses.

In reality, he said they could be hired for a fee of as low as RM5,000 to RM10,000 and could go to more than RM100,000 for services that required them to target VIPs, who are normally closely guarded by their personal bodyguards.

"These assassins can be anyone from whatever background and professions, and some are unemployed and willing to do anything for a hefty payment,” he said.

He added that it was not surprising if the militant groups such as the Daesh would begin to use their services. ― Bernama