| Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency Agensi Kawalan dan Perlindungan Sempadan Malaysia اڬيسي كاولن سمڤادن مليسيا | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | MCBA / AKPS |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 2015 |
| Superseding agency | Malaysia Border Control Agency |
| Employees | 613 (2022) |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency (Operations jurisdiction) | Malaysia |
| Operations jurisdiction | Malaysia |
| Legal jurisdiction | Land borders between Malaysia and Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei |
| Primary governing body | Government of Malaysia |
| Secondary governing body | Ministry of Home Affairs |
| Constituting instrument |
|
| General nature | |
| Specialist jurisdiction |
|
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Aras 7, Blok D7, Kompleks D, Kementerian Dalam Negeri,Putrajaya,Malaysia |
| Agency executive |
|
Malaysian Border Security Agency (MCBA), also known asAKPS (Malay:Agensi Kawalan dan Perlindungan Sempadan Malaysia,Jawi:اڬيسي كاولن سمڤادن مليسيا), is aMalaysian government agency that operates to guard the country’s entry and exit points from illegal activities such assmuggling,illegal migration andhuman trafficking.[1][2]
Administratively established in 2015, the agency was staffed by some 10,000 officials from theMalaysian Armed Forces,Royal Malaysia Police,General Operations Force and the Smuggling Prevention Unit (UPP).[3][4]
In 2017, the Malaysian Border Security Agency Act 2017 [Act 799] was passed by theParliament of Malaysia to formally establish and further empower the agency.[5][6] During the passing of the bill, the then-Deputy Prime Minister,Ahmad Zahid Hamid assures that there will be no overlapping of duties between government agencies[5] and no additional cost will be inccured, as the agency's officers will be taken from other existing agencies such as police, customs, immigration,National Anti-Drug Agency, National Kenaf and Tobacco Board and other relevant authorities.[6]
Under Act 799, which took effect on 29 December 2017,[7] the agency was tasked to protect Malaysia's land borders with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei only and to curb any cross-border crimes in those areas.[7][8][9]
On 12 March 2021, theMalaysian Cabinet decided to restructure the agency to place it under theRoyal Malaysia Police (PDRM). It was also decided that the Malaysian Border Security Agency Act 2017 [Act 799] will be repealed once the restructuring is completed. The restructuring of AKSEM into the police forces, which took place in phases in a span of three months from 30 June 2021 to 30 September 2021, saw some 613 agency officers and personnel absorbed into the Internal Security and Public Order Department of theGeneral Operations Force under PDRM.[10][11]
In December 2021, the bill to repeal Act 799 and dissolve the agency was tabled in theParliament.[12] It was unanimously passed by theDewan Rakyat on 18 July 2022[11] and byDewan Negara on 8 August 2022.[13] The agency was officially dissolved on 16 November 2022 when the dissolution Act took effect on that day.[14]
AKSEM would eventually be replaced and succeed by a new agency, which is called the Malaysia Border Control and Protection Agency on 18 December 2024, when the Malaysia Border Control and Protection Agency Act 2024 [Act 860] officially went into effect.[15] Under Act 860, the powers and jurisdiction of the new agency was expanded to encompass all land, sea, and air entry points of the country, unlike AKSEM, which was only tasked to control the land borders of Malaysia.[16][17][18][19][15]
Section 2: "Malaysian land border" means land border between Malaysia and Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, and Malaysia and Brunei. Section 4(1): The Agency shall have the following functions: (a) to carry out Malaysian land border control;...