Malaysian, Indonesian police strengthen cooperation to tackle cross-border crime

JAKARTA: The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and the Indonesian National Police (POLRI) will strengthen cooperation in the fight against transnational crime, including expediting the handling of criminals who escape across the borders of both countries.

The matter was discussed in a meeting between the International Relations Division of PDRM and POLRI which took place here, recently.

Head of the international relations division of POLRI, Krishna Murti, said Malaysia could refuse the entry of Indonesian criminals who fled, or return them to Indonesia.

"The same thing will be done by Indonesia, and the use of mutual legal assistance (MLA) or extradition will be the last option," he said in a statement.

POLRI also plans to establish a Border Transnational Crime Liaison Office to increase the surveillance of the country's borders.

According to Krishna, the existence of the office will encourage direct coordination between the two parties so that problems can be resolved quickly and accurately without referring to the headquarters.

The meeting last Thursday, in addition to being an ASEAN agenda, optimised active dialogue and strengthened capacity building of the two countries' police.

Chief of POLRI, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, is the Chairman of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC) and Krishna is the Chairman of the Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC).

-- BERNAMA