Thailand ready to cooperate with Malaysia over border control

SONGKHLA: Thailand is ready to cooperate with Malaysia to tighten security control at the border following the shooting incident which led to the death of a General Operations Force (PGA) personnel while on duty in Perlis on Tuesday.

Fourth Division Army Commander, Lt General Kriangkrai Srirak who is the chairman of the Thailand-Malaysia Regional Border Committee (RBC) contacted his counterpart in Malaysia, Lt Gen Datuk Mohamad Ab Rahman today.

He said they had held a discussion to enhance control at the border to prevent such incidents from recurring, including intensifying patrols and creating control posts at strategic locations to curb smuggling activities, as well as sharing of information.

"We do not want a similar incident to happen again. Thai authorities are ready to cooperate because it is one of the channels to prevent unwanted incidents from happening," he told the media after inspecting the location of the incident in Sadao District, Songkhla.

He also expressed his condolences to the family members of the late Sergeant Baharuddin Ramli, 54, who was killed in the shootout.

Meanwhile, Kriangkrai said the diplomatic relations between the two countries were at a good level.

"Therefore, appropriate measures need to be taken," he said.

Meanwhile, Kriangkrai said Thai authorities had identified the suspects involved in the shooting incident on Tuesday.

"Arrests will be made in the near future to assist in the investigation," he said.

In the early hours of Tuesday, Baharudin was killed, while Sergeant Norihan a/l Tari, 39, was seriously injured in a shootout with smugglers at Post TS9 near Padang Besar, Perlis.

The media yesterday reported that another PGA personnel suffered light injuries after being shot while patrolling with his colleague at the Malaysia-Thailand border near Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah, at about 6.15 pm.

-- BERNAMA