I READ with trepidation Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim’s proposal to form a maritime-based civil defence force, ostensibly to combat smuggling and piracy. However, it is a noble but misguided intention.
We already have multitudes of maritime-based enforcement agencies. Our existing maritime-based enforcement units — Royal Malaysian Navy, police marine force and Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) — are already having difficulty determining their respective jurisdictions.
But the irony is that MMEA was formed in 2005 to remove all these jurisdictional overlaps.
Instead of forming another new agency or expanding the role of an agency that has no involvement in maritime enforcement, the government would do better to strengthen or enhance the capabilities of existing enforcement agencies.
Assuming the government still intends to enhance our existing Civil Defence force to have both maritime-based anti-smuggling and counter-piracy units, then the new unit will need to be armed to be effective.
But this, in turn, violates the basic tenets of civil defence forces worldwide.
A civilian force should not be armed and but rather function primarily to rescue people. During war, the civil defence force will be a key unit in planning and conducting rescue operations. By arming the force, the unit will now become a legitimate target at war.
Therefore, instead of getting another unit to be involved in maritime security, the government must seriously consider strengthening the existing unit. In fact, this is better served by enhancing the police marine force, which is very effective in handling piracy.
Do not fix the wheel when it is not broken.
Liew Shan Lee, Kuala Lumpur