BAU: Perak’s proposed Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) complex in Pengkalan Hulu will be planned not only as a security facility but also as a potential tourism gateway along the Malaysia-Thailand border.
Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said lessons gathered from Sarawak’s border facilities would help the state plan the new complex more effectively.
He said the Serikin ICQS project offered a suitable reference because its terrain and remote location closely resembled Pengkalan Hulu, which borders Betong in Thailand.
“We see similarities with the ICQS project to be built in Perak at the Malaysia-Thailand border in Pengkalan Hulu, Hulu Perak.
“The conditions are quite similar, with hills, red soil and a remote setting,” he said after visiting the Serikin ICQS construction site on Sunday (Aug 9).
Saarani said Perak would use the information gathered during the visit in its discussions with the Home Ministry, particularly concerning project costs and the development approach.
“We want to study this because we will be negotiating with the Home Ministry on the costs and how the area should be developed.
“The Pengkalan Hulu ICQS will not focus solely on security and border control. We will also consider the area’s tourism potential,” he said.
The delegation also visited Indonesia’s Jagoi Babang National Border Post to observe the operation and management of the facility across the border.
Saarani said the visits to Serikin and Jagoi Babang provided the delegation with a broader understanding of border management, particularly in terms of infrastructure development and operations.
The visit formed part of a four-day benchmarking programme undertaken by members of the Perak State Security Working Committee (JKKN) in Sarawak.
Before arriving in Kuching, the delegation visited the Sungai Tujoh ICQS in Miri and attended a briefing by the Sarawak Immigration Department director.
Saarani said the findings would be presented at the Perak JKKN meeting in Kuching on Monday before the delegation returned home on Tuesday.
