TUMPAT: The eight new General Operations Force (GOF) control posts in Sabah and Sarawak, announced in the recent 2022 Budget, will be manned by three battalions.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim said the three were the 11th, 10th and 16th battalions.
He said an additional 26 police personnel would also be deployed to the posts - seven in Sarawak and one in Sabah.
"The police would like to thank the government for the additional control posts for GOF as announced in the 2022 Budget last Friday.
"This will help us to better guard the country's borders," he told reporters after visiting the Kelantan border here today.
Accompanying him during the visit were state deputy police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun, GOF Southeast Brigade commander Senior Assistant Commissioner Hasan Basri Ahmad Safar and several state senior officers.
Mazlan said two of the seven control posts in Sarawak would be set up in Lundu, one each in Belaga, Sri Aman, Bau, Padawan and Serian while the one in Sabah would be in Keningau.
He added that Sabah and Sarawak were selected for the setting up of the new control posts as they have the largest borders in the country.
"As example, the country's border with Kalimantan is about 1,645km while with Brunei, it is about 528km and therefore, more deployment of policemen need to be sent to these states," he added.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, when tabling the 2022 Budget, among others, announced that RM230 million was allocated for the police and armed forces to look after the welfare of their personnel, and RM13 million to empower the police's Sexual, Women and Children Crime Investigation Division (D11).
He said to strengthen the country's sovereignty, the government will add eight General Operations Force control posts in Sabah and Sarawak to improve border security.
On today's visit, Mazlan said it was aimed to check on the Ops Benteng operation carried out by GOF, the marine police and other relevant agencies.
He also spent more than 30 minutes on a boat ride along the Golok river to check on border security.
