MALAYSIAN BORDER SECURITY AGENCY ACT 2017

This Act comes into operation on a date to be appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette.

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ACT 2017

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Interpretation

any ministry, department, office, agency, authority, commission, committee, board or council of the Federal

Government, or of any of the State Governments, established under any written law or otherwise;

any local authorities; and

the security forces;

“High Level Committee” means the High Level Committee established under subsection 5(1);

“Coordinating Committee” means the Coordinating Committee of the Agency established under subsection 8(1);

“Commissioner General” means the Commissioner General of the Agency appointed under subsection 11(1);

“Minister” means the Minister charged with the responsibility for internal security;

“officer of the Agency” includes the Commissioner General and the Deputies Commissioner General appointed under section 11, and any officer of the Agency appointed under subsection 13(1);

“Malaysian land border” means land border between Malaysia and Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, and Malaysia and Brunei.

The Agency shall, subject to this Act, be employed at the

Malaysian land border for securing any smuggling activities or other illegal activities at the Malaysian land border.

Functions of Agency

to carry out Malaysian land border control;

to make recommendations on matters relating to Malaysian land border security or for matters provided for under this

Act to the High Level Committee and the Coordinating

Committee;

to receive any report of the commission of an offence in relation to smuggling activities or other illegal activities at the Malaysian land border;

to prevent and suppress the commission of an offence in relation to smuggling activities or other illegal activities at the Malaysian land border;

to coordinate the implementation of enforcement by the

Agency with other agencies at the Malaysian land border;

to monitor any smuggling activities or other illegal activities at the Malaysian land border;

to formulate policies and programmes to prevent any smuggling activities or other illegal activities at the

Malaysian land border; and

generally to perform any other function for ensuring

Malaysian land border security and wellbeing or do all matters incidental to its functions.

The High Level Committee shall consist of the following members:

Seven members, including the Chairman, shall form the quorum of a meeting of the High Level Committee.

The High Level Committee may invite any person not being a member of the High Level Committee to attend its meetings to advise the High Level Committee on any matter under discussion.

The Agency may appoint any officer from amongst the officers of the Agency to be the secretariat for the High Level

Committee.

Function of High Level Committee

The Coordinating Committee shall consist of the following members:

Seven members, including the Chairman, shall form the quorum of a meeting of the Coordinating Committee.

The Coordinating Committee may invite any person not being a member of the Coordinating Committee to attend its meetings to advise the Coordinating Committee on any matter under discussion.

The Agency may appoint any officer from amongst the officers of the Agency to be the secretariat for the Coordinating

Committee.

Functions of Coordinating Committee

coordinating the implementation of this Act;

to make recommendations on matters relating to Malaysian land border security or for matters provided for under this Act to the High Level Committee;

implementing all the decisions made by the High Level

Committee;

formulating policies and programmes to prevent any smuggling activities or other illegal activities at the

Malaysian land border;

monitoring any smuggling activities or other illegal activities at the Malaysian land border and to secure response from the relevant Government agencies and organizations;

certifying the recommendations made by the Agency to the High Level Committee;

considering measures to secure any smuggling activities or other illegal activities at the Malaysian land border;

cooperating and coordinating with Government agencies and international organizations on any smuggling activities or other illegal activities at the Malaysian land border;

and

performing any other functions for the proper implementation of this Act.

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The Coordinating Committee may establish any committee as the Coordinating Committee thinks necessary or expedient to assist the Coordinating Committee in the performance of its functions.

The Minister shall appoint Deputies Commissioner General of the Agency from amongst the public officers for a period as the Minister thinks necessary or expedient for the purposes of carrying out and giving effect to the provisions of this Act.

The Commissioner General shall be responsible to the High

Level Committee and the Coordinating Committee for direction, command, control and supervision of all matters relating to the

Agency.

The Commissioner General may, for giving full effect to any provision of this Act or for more convenient implementation of the provisions of this Act, issue any direction, order or decision as the Commissioner General thinks necessary or expedient.

Revocation and resignation of Commissioner General

The Commissioner General may, at any time, resign his office by giving a written notice to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

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Appointment of other officers of Agency

police officers as specified in the Police Act 1967

[Act 344];

officers of customs as specified in the Customs Act 1967

[Act 235];

officers of immigration as specified in the Immigration

Act 1959/63 [Act 155];

officers of the National Anti-Drugs Agency as specified in the National Anti-Drugs Agency 2004 [Act 638];

officers of the National Kenaf and Tobacco Board as specified in the National Kenaf and Tobacco Board

Act 2009 [Act 692]; and

any other public officers as is considered necessary.

The appointment of other officers of the Agency under subsection (1) shall be for a period as the Minister thinks expedient.

An officer appointed under subsection (1) shall be subject to the direction, command, control and supervision of the Commissioner General or any other officer of the Agency superior to him in rank, and shall exercise his powers, perform his functions and discharge his duties in compliance with such direction, command or control as may be specified orally or in writing by the Commissioner General or any other officer of the

Agency superior to him in rank.

Powers of officers of Agency

an officer of the Agency shall have all the powers of a police officer of whatever rank as provided for under the Criminal Procedure Code [Act 593], and such powers shall be in addition to the powers provided for under this Act; and

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an officer of the Agency shall have all the powers conferred on an officer in charge of a police station under any other written law, and for such purpose the office of such officer shall be deemed to be a police station.

Certificate of appointment

An officer of the Agency who, having ceased to be an officer of the Agency, without good cause fails to comply with subsection (1)

commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both, and, in addition, shall be liable to pay the value of the property not delivered up, and such value may be ascertained by the court in a summary manner and shall be recoverable as a fine.

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Personation

pretends to be an officer of the Agency knowing that he is not;

falsely personates an officer of the Agency; or

in such assumed character does or attempts to do any act under colour of being an officer of the Agency, commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit or to both.

Rank of officer of Agency

The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, amend the Schedule.

Prosecution

no officer of the Agency or committee or any person attending any meeting of the Agency, High Level

Committee or Coordinating Committee, whether during or after his tenure of office or employment, shall disclose any information obtained by him in the course of his duties; and

no other person who has by any means access to any information or document relating to the affairs of the

Agency shall disclose such information or document.

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Any person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand ringgit or to both.

Protection against suits and legal proceedings

If any book, document or paper which are in evidence or liable to inspection in any civil or criminal proceedings contain any entry in which any informer is named or described or which might lead to the discovery of the informer, the court shall cause all such passages to be concealed from view or to be obliterated so far only as may be necessary to protect the informer from discovery.

If in the trial for any offence under this Act or any regulations made under the Act, the court, after full enquiry into the case, is of the opinion that the informer wilfully made in his complaint a material statement which he knew or believed to be false or did not believe to be true, or if in any other proceedings the court is of opinion that justice cannot be fully done between the parties thereto without the discovery of the informer, the court may require the production of the original complaint, if in writing, and permit enquiry and require full disclosure concerning the informer.

Evidence of agent provocateur admissible

Notwithstanding any law or rule of law to the contrary, a conviction for any offence under this Act solely on the uncorroborated evidence of any agent provocateur shall not be illegal and no such conviction shall be set aside merely because the court which tried the case has failed to refer in the grounds of its judgment to the need to warn itself against the danger of convicting on such evidence.

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Regulations

Any directive, order or decision made by the existing

Anti-Smuggling Unit and in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall, upon the commencement of this

Act, so far as it is consistent with this Act, continue to remain in force until it is revoked by the Agency.