KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — Drug pushers and other criminals operating around the Malaysia-Thai border have been escaping the police from both countries by taking advantage of a loophole in the law on their registered identity cards.
Sungai Golok police chief Colonel Pratya Baite said the issue has been causing a lot of problems for the Thai police, The New Straits Times reported today.
He identified the criminals as mainly Thai drug smugglers who were working with their criminal counterparts in Kelantan.
“Many Thai criminals and drug pushers operating along the border hold dual Thai-Malaysian citizenship, which makes it easy for them to escape the country.
“We have seen many such cases, including those which took place in the Sungai Golok sub-province several years ago, which involved shootings, drug trafficking, as well as loan shark cases,” the Thai policeman was quoted as saying.
Pratya gave an example of the many cases where Thai police would chase the suspects after establishing their identities for crimes in the border town of Sungai Golok.
However, he said the suspects would then cross Sungai Golok and enter Malaysian territory to escape.
“In Malaysia, these criminals will use their Malaysian MyKad. This poses a big problem for us and our Kelantan police counterparts due to the differing identities,” he was quoted as saying.
He told the newspaper that the criminal suspects would not use their original Thai names on their MyKad, which further complicates matters as it will be different from their particulars in Thailand.
Pratya said despite the difficulties faced, the Thai police remain determined to continue their hunt for the criminals.
He added that efforts to trace the suspects have been ongoing with assistance from the Kelantan police contingent.
The newspaper also reported Kelantan police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun saying that Malaysian police faced similar problems with these cross-country criminals due to the different registered identities.
He told the NST that the problem was a longstanding one and had been discussed with their Thai counterparts in various meetings.
“Seeking a solution to the problem has always been our main agenda. State police will also raise the issue with the relevant agencies, such as the Immigration Department,” Zaki was quoted as saying.
In 2019, Thai authorities said the issue of people holding dual Thai-Malaysian citizenship has posed a national security threat for Thailand and Malaysia.
In Malaysia, having dual citizenship is not allowed and is not recognised under the Federal Constitution.
Article 24 of the Federal Constitution states that any citizen who has acquired citizenship of another country must relinquish their Malaysian citizenship.
Even though it is not wrong for Malaysians to be offered citizenships from another country, it becomes an offence when they fail to surrender one of their citizenships.
