Malaysia Checkpoints & Border Agency Operations Starts 1 May, 2024

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has announced that the management and control of the country's borders will be unified under a single institution called the Malaysia Checkpoints and Border Agency (MCBA).

MCBA's role would be to coordinate and enhance the secure management of Malaysia's borders. PM Anwar went on to say that the MCBA began operations yesterday, May 1, 2024, but the formal legislation governing the agency will be introduced in Parliament in July.

In his speech at the Home Ministry's Aidilfitri celebration, Anwar adds, "The MCBA will derive its authority from the existing bodies within its structure, including the police, the Customs Department, and the Immigration Department. I urge all departments to seriously adhere to this direction and take appropriate action."

Anwar oversaw the terms of reference handover ceremony, which involved the Home Ministry and its MCBA partners. The documents were signed by high-level officials including the Home Ministry's secretary-general, the chief commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Treasury's secretary-general, and the secretaries-general of the Ministries of Defence, Agriculture and Food Security, Health, Transport, Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability. State secretaries from Sabah and Sarawak also signed the papers.

The Home Ministry further confirmed in a statement that the cabinet had approved the establishment of the MCBA on April 17. The new agency includes various departments and agencies such as the police, the Customs Department, the Immigration Department, the Health Ministry, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, and the Road Transport Department.

Source: New Straits Times