Envoy admits personnel got carried away
Published on: Wednesday, April 08, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: It might have been adrenaline and anxiety that drove 17 Indonesians across the Malaysian border without going through the proper procedure while in pursuit of a murderer last month.The 17 Indonesians – 10 from the Republic's police force, four from the army and three civilians – have since been released by the Malaysian authority and returned to Indonesia.The Indonesian soldiers and police officers were dressed in plain clothes but armed with pistols when they committed the offence on the shared Sebatik Island.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Actually they were in hot pursuit of a person, believed to have committed a grievous crime in Indonesia before escaping to Malaysia. Indonesian authorities immediately tipped off their Malaysian counterpart so that the person can be arrested and extradited to Indonesia," explained Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia, Herman Prayitno.He said the 17 Indonesians crossed the border in the belief that they would be given the permission to identify and bring back the criminal.Indonesian forces, he said, have always respected the sovereignty of Malaysia and would follow the correct procedure when entering and exiting their neighbour.
ADVERTISEMENT
"But this time, it could have been emotion that drove them to simply pass the border without following the right process," he said.Herman said because of the good diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring countries, the incident was handled in the most delicate and sensitive manner and the 17 men returned to Indonesia with no further problem.
ADVERTISEMENT
He attributed the success in negotiating the release of the 17 Indonesians to the long-established diplomatic relations and friendship between the two nations.During the March 13 incident, the 17 men entered Sabah illegally via various channels with the first group of 10 arriving at Wallace Bay police station on motorcycles while the second group of seven arrived later by speedboat.They were immediately held at the Wallace Bay police station lockup and eight pistols and four .38 revolvers were seized. Sabah police also deployed a platoon from nearby Tawau as a precaution.The men were chasing a suspect, wanted for murder of a military man on Nunukan Island, on March 10. The suspect was arrested by Sabah police on March 12 after he was caught hiding in an oil palm plantation on Sebatik Island.Meanwhile, Herman said he would get in touch with the consul general office in Tawau to determine whether it is true that the border posts in Serudong and Sungai Ular along the Nunukan border have been left unmanned by the Malaysian government. "While I am sure there is enough security to man the border, because of the vast area that needs to be covered, there is always a shortage of manpower to guard all the entry points on both sides of the border," he said. Previously, Kalimantan Utara Governor Dr H Irianto said drug traffickers gain easy access into Nunukan through these unmanned border crossings before distributing the contraband throughout the archipelago.Irianto added that both the Malaysian and Indonesian governments had agreed to erect proper border crossings 15 years ago and Indonesia had already tarred the stretches leading to both these points 10 years ago.However, because Malaysia had yet to keep its end of the bargain, Indonesia could do nothing more.In terms of drug control, Herman said Indonesia and Malaysia have a collaborative programme that helps prevent drug trafficking through their borders.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
