KUALA KRAI: All battalions under the General Operations Force (GOF) manning the Malaysian-Thai border have been put on alert and ordered to beef up checks to prevent people infected with monkeypox (mpox) from entering the country.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said checks by GOF members would focus on the many "rat lanes" that exist along the borders.

He said there were about 151 GOF posts in several states bordering Thailand, including Kelantan.

"Following the Home Ministry's recent order for GOF members to check along the borders against any mpox outbreak, l have asked them to watch out for this, apart from their normal surveillance duties.

"While checking on mpox, the GOF members should not forget to carry out operations against smuggling activities such drugs, firearms and smuggling of Malaysian subsidised items out of the country.

"The other policemen will be monitoring the country's (legal) entry points," he told reporters after launching the force's "Kampung Angkat Madani" in Kampung Jenal here today.

On Aug 25, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had said the ministry was focusing its monitoring efforts on four main entry points into the country to assist the Health Ministry in preventing the spread of mpox in Malaysia.

He had identified the four main entry points as Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminals 1 and 2, the Sultan Iskandar Building, and the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex.

He had said the ministry was also keeping track of rat lanes along the country's borders, especially around Sungai Golok, through security controls conducted by the General Operations Force (GOF).

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/08/1097353/igp-security-along-borders-tightened-prevent-entry-mpox