GOF brigades to secure borders

KUCHING: Bukit Aman internal security and public order director Datuk Seri Muhammad Sabtu Osman said border security would be boosted wherever necessary.

He said the department was planning to form special brigade teams in the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak.

“We will conduct a study and if there is a need to upgrade the borders, we will do so.

“Currently, Border Security Agency personnel are stationed along the country’s borders.

“We are planning to set up special brigade teams there too to improve and strengthen security and safety,” said Sabtu at the march-out parade in conjunction with the General Operations Force (GOF) basic training course graduation ceremony at the Kuching Police Training Centre here yesterday.

He said the plan to form the special brigade was to make it unnecessary for GOF personnel to carry out other tasks in addition to their assigned duties.

Sabtu said their assigned task was to control security at the borders.

“We do not want GOF personnel to do several tasks. We want them to concentrate on one duty only.

“That is why we are planning to set up the special brigade for GOF personnel and their duty is to control security at the borders.”

He said the department had 20,000 personnel nationwide to assist in GOF tasks.

The department has also deployed its personnel to Sabah to assist in boosting security.

On the GOF basic training course, he said 800 graduates had completed the course nationwide and the department was ready to train them.

He said training included deploying them to places such as forests and islands so that they could learn to survive, protect themselves from danger and protect the country.