Posting of MOF personnel augurs well for security in Bakun — Belaga rep

KUCHING: The posting of Marine Operations Force ( MOF) personnel at Bakun hydroelectric power ( HEP) dam is timely as it will provide better security for the multi- billion ringgit asset, said Belaga assemblyman Datuk Liwan Lagang.

He said their presence will also help to boost security in the nearby areas and areas as far as Long Busang, which is the last settlement along the upper Balui River.

“Their presence in Bakun Dam is timely as they can help to prevent illegal fi shing as well as to assist in preventing smuggling along the border.

“As the people’s representative of the area, I would like to thank the MOF commander for his decision to station his men there,” Liwan told The Borneo Post here yesterday.

He added that such security measure has long been overdue for Bakun.

“But it’s better late than never,” he said.

Liwan, who is also Assistant Minister of Water Supply, was commenting on a Bernama report that security level around Bakun Dam had been raised with the stationing of a MOF team in the dam area beginning this year.

Its Region Five Sarawak commander, ACP Salehuddin Mat Zaman, said the team comprising an officer and six marine policemen was deployed to the dam area this month and would remain there for a certain period of time before being replaced by another team on a rotational basis.

He said the presence of a marine police team would boost security at the dam area which was being guarded by the auxiliary police.

“The security aspect cannot be taken lightly but always be improved as the dam area is an important national asset,” he told reporters after attending the Region Five MOF monthly assembly at its headquarters here yesterday.

Salehuddin said the MOF team would assist in patrolling and monitoring the extensive dam area which is difficult to access via land route.

He thanked al l the parties involved in ensuring security in t he a rea i ncluding t he management and security unit of the Bakun Dam and the Sarawak Rivers Board which had assisted a lot logistically by providing accommodation, temporary office and a pontoon to transfer the MOF assets.