Weak security sees smuggling along RI-Malaysia borders

Abdul Khalik ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Entekong, West Kalimantan   |  Mon, 02/25/2008 12:02 PM  |  Headlines

At around 9 p.m. several Malaysian police officers stopped and checked two cars passing through the only check point along the road from Serian, Malaysia, to the border gate linking Indonesia's border town called Entekong.

"Move on," an officer told us after checking the driver's face but without checking the inside of our car.

Driver Dedi Ibrahim said the officers never thoroughly searched any passing cars.

"If we bring guns or drugs from Malaysia to Indonesia and we hide them under the seat, they'll never find out," he told The Jakarta Post that night.

At 9 p.m., the border gate, which opens daily from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., was closed.

Our two cars stopped just in front of the closed gate as two guards stood up. They seemed accustomed to cars stopping and parking just in front of the gate.

One driver got out to speak with the guards before everyone got out to follow him along a narrow pathway.

"This is the shortcut," said our guide, Suparman.

"If we don't want to spend the night in front of the gate, we must take the downhill road through the forest and pass the border offices.

"We just leave the car here. We'll take it tomorrow. It's safe," he said.

Guided by a flashlight, the five of us began the three-kilometer trip to cross the border to Entekong, through a muddy and dark alley, up a small mountain and across a very slippery slope.

After a five-minute walk, the green fence dividing Malaysia and Indonesia appeared, broken in several sections.

Border crossers could easily pass through the holes to reach Indonesian territory.

"During daylight hours, we would be able to see troops on top of the hill," Suparman said.

"They will stop people from crossing the border. But all of us can pass through with 10 ringgits (US$3). They don't even check what we bring. But in the night, they are all gone."

After another 20 minutes, we reached Indonesia's border offices.

Several soldiers at the post guard stared at us, but said nothing. And we walked freely across the border.

Madjid, a Dayak-Malay Indonesian trader, who carried with him that night a large box, said he used to carry all sorts of goods across the border, using the shortcut, including electronic goods, sugar, onion and cigarettes.

"This alley is actually the old alley for the natives here to pass through the border back and forth," Madjid said.

"We just use it. But many groups have used the alley for smuggling. I don't know if gun and drug smugglers also use the path. But who knows?"

He said there were several other "rat paths" along the border line used to smuggle paper-less Indonesians.

"I know several Indonesians -- men and women -- who are being smuggled through the paths to Malaysia," he said.

Rampant smuggling in the area has also led to the heavy use of Malaysian LNG (liquid natural gas), which is illegal for Indonesians -- some 90 percent of LNG used across the border area comes from Malaysia.

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