Home Ministry ready to step up 'Op Benteng' with COVID-19 spike - Hamzah

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said all agencies under the Home Ministry, namely the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom), Border Control Agency and Immigration Department had been instructed to tighten land and sea border control in Sabah against migrant intrusion.

“I’ve also instructed the number of personnel and operations under ‘Op Benteng’ to be increased as a measure to ensure the intrusion of migrants who may carry COVID-19 and spread it among locals can be curbed.

"The Ministry of Home Affairs will continue to monitor the latest developments in all hotspots which are landing points or rat trails used by migrants to encroach into the country," he said in a statement.

Yesterday, Bernama reported that Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said the PDRM would mobilise its forces to ensure the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of COVID-19 were implemented effectively if the Movement Control Order is re-enforced.

Bernama also reported that Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said a total of 287 new COVID-19 cases was recorded in the last 24 hours and it was the highest number of daily cases ever recorded since the beginning of the pandemic in Malaysia.

All of these cases are local infections and the latest development brings the total number of cases to 11,771 cases with 1,540 active cases.