Ops Benteng: Peranan Agensi Keselamatan dalam Mengawal Sempadan Negara Semasa Situasi Pandemik Covid-19 (Ops Benteng: The Role of a Security Agency in Overseeing National Borders During the Covid-19 Pandemic Situation)

Abstract

The immediate response by countries worldwide to curb the spread of Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 was through the implementation of border lockdown, minimizing human movements. Malaysia launched Ops Benteng (Fortress Operation) via National Task Force (NTF) as the country faced high risk transmission through under-detected illegal movements of people across the land and maritime borders. Human trafficking and smuggling has been a great concern before the pandemic, and thus posing unprecedented challenge to the Malaysian border security agencies. This paper aims to analyze the role of security agencies involved in Ops Benteng, the extent of coordination and challenges faced by NTF while implementing the border control measures. The methods include structured interview with officials from Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), the Home Ministry (KDN), and the National Security Council (NSC). This studywill be the first in articulating duties and responsibilities, as well as cooperation between border control agencies and challenges faced in security governance structures. The author argues that the dilemma of compartmentalizing problems by the agencies working in silo and the bureaucratic hurdles that impede coordination efficiencies need to be addressed by all involved stakeholders and the implementation efficiency can be further enhanced by an integrated cooperation framework.