KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 27): The government is determined to take stern action against the masterminds and syndicates behind foreign migrant smuggling, as well as any parties protecting or complicit with them, following the death of a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) personnel while on duty.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the safety of enforcement personnel and national sovereignty cannot be compromised, and all enforcement teams must act firmly and without compromise against any attempts to breach national borders.

He said this in a Facebook post following the passing of an MMEA Intelligence Unit member, Maritime Leading Hand (Technical) Mohd Roshaimi Mohd Ridzuan, who was killed in the line of duty while preventing the entry of undocumented migrants into the country.

"I am deeply moved by the passing of the late Mohd Roshaimi and disappointed by the actions of those who threaten the safety and sovereignty of the nation. We cannot let this sacrifice be in vain.

"All enforcement teams must act firmly without compromise against attempts to breach national borders," he said adding that the government and the entire security forces are also determined to ensure that the masterminds and syndicates behind foreign migrant smuggling, as well as those protecting or complicit in such activities, are brought to justice.

He also stressed that traitors who allow the nation's sovereignty to be violated must be held accountable for their actions.

In the same post, Anwar and his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, expressed their condolences to the family of the deceased and the entire MMEA community, who have lost a comrade-in-arms in defending the security of the nation's waters.

The prime minister also prayed that Allah SWT forgive the deceased, shower His mercy upon his soul, and place him among the righteous and pious.

Mohd Roshaimi, 41, was involved in an incident where a patrol boat collided with a coastal seawall in Sungai Padang, Perlis, while on duty preventing the entry of undocumented migrants into the country.

During the 12.30am incident, the father of two was confirmed dead, while three other MMEA personnel were reported injured after being believed thrown from the boat they were riding in.

The incident is believed to have occurred while they were chasing a boat suspected of carrying nine undocumented Myanmar migrants before the patrol boat they were on reportedly collided with the coastal seawall in Sungai Padang.

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