Hundreds of students affected by Malaysia’s clampdown on Thai border illegal crossings; education ministry to investigate

” A WAY OF LIFE IN THE COMMUNITY”

Primary and secondary school students may wait until 6 a.m. every night before getting on boats to Malaysia, according to Bernama. &nbsp,

To board a boat from one of the five illegal bases that locals find to be the most popular, each of them pays a RM1 ($ 0.22 ) fee. &nbsp,

Students are ferried to school at 6:30 am ( Thailand time ) and back at 2 pm ( Malaysia time ) using the long-standing boat service twice daily.

Mr Ishak Gazali, 61, a Malaysian who has lived in Narathiwat’s Sungai Golok community for generations, shared with Bernama that the kids in his community have been attending college in Rantau Panjang for three years.

According to Mr. Ishak,” I’m a Indonesian, and when the police announced that they would begin detaining Malaysians using these crossings starting on December 1,”” I became concerned because many children in this area use this route to get to school.”

He added that because many individuals do not have cars and reside far from these immigration structures, it would be difficult for them to use standard access points like the Rantau Panjang Immigration, Customs, Quarantine, and Security Complex ( ICQS). &nbsp,

According to Thai member Abdullah Abu Bakar, who is married to a Malay, cross-border migrations have become a way of living for the local community, particularly the kids from Thailand who attend Rantau Panjang’s schools. &nbsp,

According to a 64-year-old man quoted as saying,” I hope the governments of Malaysia and Thailand will make it easier for our children to continue their education without interruption. &nbsp,

People of both sides of the border, Sinar Harian reported, claim that the inhabitants were like “brothers and daughters.” Some people are distributed across the border, too. &nbsp,

The valley is also a source of income, especially for boat providers, others pointed out. &nbsp,

” If ( the authorities ) want to take action, arrest those that did wrong such as smuggling”, a resident was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian. &nbsp,

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail on Wednesday ( Nov 19 ) reiterated that there are only three official entry points along the Malaysia-Thailand border in Kelantan– the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security Complexes ( ICQS ) in Rantau Panjang, Bukit Bunga and Pengkalan Kubor. He claimed that going off the beaten path is against the rules.

The National Security Council would approve the Kelantan administration’s proposal to build a 100 km border wall this month, according to Mr. Saifuddin, while it is still in debate. The wall is expected to cost RM445 million ( US$ 99 million ) and the Thai government has reportedly agreed to it.

The walls proposal was made days after Thai authorities detained six Malaysians in a hotel in Sungai Golok for possessing more than 6, 000 meth pills while illegally crossing the border. A well-known native musician from Kelantan was among the detainees.