PUTRAJAYA, Dec 17 — The Royal Malaysia Police has asked the government to review the area under its jurisdiction so as to also cover the country’s waters up to five nautical miles, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said the area was now under the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) which took over from the Marine Police the role of policing the waters up to 12 nautical miles in 2011.
This request was not to sideline the role of the MMEA, but to facilitate arrests and implement enforcement measures up to five nautical miles of the nation’s waters, he said.
“It is to expand the area of responsibility of the police, with the area beyond five nautical miles to come under the jurisdiction of the MMEA and beyond that, to the navy,” he told reporters after the outgoing ambassador of China to Malaysia Datuk Chai Xi called on him here today.
Earlier, at a media conference with Chai Xi, Ahmad Zahid (picture) said his discussions with the envoy also touched on plans to send Malaysian officers to China for training in the gathering and analyses of intelligence information.
The minister said they shared the opinion that close Malaysia-China cooperation had long been established and the current second stage of cooperation also covered efforts to send Malaysian officers, possibly from the immigration department or police, to get more exposure in China.
He said the government was also considering the purchase of equipment or assets from China for use by enforcement agencies under the Home Ministry.
“China has a defence and security industry from which we can learn. At this early stage, maybe we can use sophisticated equipment in Malaysia, such as the high definition closed circuit television which can be stationed at several hot spots,” he said.
Zahid said several other areas of cooperation were also discussed and planned for implementation in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic relations on May 31 next year. — Bernama
