KULIM: The Kedah government has called on security agencies to strengthen measures to prevent Langkawi's waters from being accessed by undocumented migrants.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor stressed the need for responsible agencies to safeguard the nation's waters and prevent a repeat of Friday's incident, where 196 Rohingya migrants landed on the island.
However, he stressed the importance of maintaining humanitarian values, commending the efforts of those who provided aid to the fatigued and hungry migrants before turning them away.
"I hope no agency allows our waters to be breached. If they are not compromised, how can these landings occur? This indicates lapses in security.
"Strict measures must be implemented to prevent such incidents in the future, but humanitarian values must also be upheld and I thank them (for humanitarian efforts)," he said after launching the Kulim Smart Pay initiative here today.
On Friday, a boat carrying 196 Rohingya migrants was intercepted after landing at Teluk Yu beach in Langkawi at 3.25am.
Yesterday, two more boats, carrying around 300 undocumented migrants from Myanmar, were turned away by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). The vessels were located two nautical miles southwest of Pulau Rebak, Langkawi.
Sanusi acknowledged that while incidents like this have been rare in recent years, Langkawi remained a favourite entry point for such groups.
"I urge the agencies concerned to take this matter seriously. Langkawi has been targeted frequently, although there were no recent incidents until now.
"Previously, we had Op Benteng, involving MMEA, the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and the police during the Movement Control Order (MCO). However, the state lacks jurisdiction over such operations as they fall under federal authority. It is imperative that these federal agencies act to ensure such incidents are not repeated," he added.