Army's Strategic Reserve Command to boost security

Thu, 02/14/2008 7:56 PM  |  Headlines

JAKARTA (Antara): Chief of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) Lt. Gen. George Toisutta said he would send extra troops to the Indonesia-Malaysia border when necessary.

"We are ready to bolster the security along the Indonesia-Malaysia border zone, whenever the government requires us to act," Toisutta said Thursday.

The Indonesia-Malaysian border is a 2,001-kilometer stretch separating West Kalimantan from Sarawak, as well as East Kalimantan from Sabah.

The border strip has so far only been guarded by a minimum military presence from Indonesia, while Malaysia has recently increased its security along the borders by introducing a 40,000-member paramilitary legion known as Laskar Wataniah, which allegedly recruits Indonesian civilians.

The recruits are paid up to Rp 3 million (US$ 325) per month, way above the average wage in the Indonesian Army, Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said.

He said that the government would need to monitor the welfare of residents living along the borders.

Tanjungpura Regional Military Command VI chief Maj. Gen. Tono Suratman, however, denied reports that Malaysia's Wataniyah had recruited Indonesians.

"We have verified this with relevant agencies including the immigration office and Malaysian officials, and we did not find any Indonesians recruited as members of the Malaysian WataniyahLegion," Suratman said Thursday.(*)

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