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Malaysia Aims For Credible Coast Guard Agency
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) will strive to be a credible enforcement agency and create its own identity through the adoption of best practices in the Coast Guard environment despite its present personnel shortage, said its director-general, Laksamana Madya Datuk Mohammad Nik. The MMEA, which will be officially launched on March 21, currently operates with 1,200 personnel, only 30 percent of the targeted 4,000."We have to start small but that first step is a big step for us," he said, adding that the agency was in the process of recruiting more personnel as not all the vessels that it received from the various agencies came with the crew. Although many of the MMEA's personnel formerly served with the Royal Malaysian Navy, many also came from other branches of the government. Given the specialised nature of the MMEA's operations, Mohammad said conversion training was being conducted at its recruitment centre in Johor Baharu for the recruits who came from diverse professional backgrounds. "Their experience is in their own assignments but we have to formulate our own training requirements to develop our skills and competency," he said, adding that the MMEA had also established a new training centre in Lumut, co-located with the RMN's training facility at the naval base. Over the long term, he said the MMEA planned to set up its own training centre and academy under its strategic development plan. In the meantime, it has also sent its personnel to more established Coast Guard agencies in the United States and Japan. In outlining the primary tasks of the agency, also known as the Malaysian Coast Guard, he said they included maintenance of law and order; preservation of the peace, safety and security; prevention and detection of crime; apprehension and prosecution of offenders; collection of security intelligence; and conducting search and rescue. The Malaysian Maritime Zone refers to Malaysia's internal waters, territorial sea, continental shelf, exclusive economic zone and the air space over the zone. On the MMEA's task to cover 600,000 sq km under the Malaysian Maritime Zone, Mohammad admitted that it would be a Herculean task to cover every inch of it. To be really effective, he said the MMEA has chosen to focus on areas with a high concentration of illegal activities through co-ordinated patrols using both vessels and aircraft. The MMEA has received and will continue receiving a total of 70 vessels for its operations from the Royal Malaysian Navy, Marine Police, Fisheries Department and Customs Department spanning three phases from July last year until July this year. The agency has also purchased 38 Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats from the Mara Shipyard Engineering (Terengganu) to augment its fleet. To improve its surveillance capability, the MMEA is also in the process of leasing patrol planes and helicopters. Posted by: Pappy 2006-03-18 |
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