Singaporean and Malaysian travellers will soon face stricter screening processes at airports while trying to enter Indonesia.
The action is being taken to combat the smuggling of drugs into the country which mostly involved citizens from Indonesia’s two closest neighbours, Malaysian national news agency Bernama reported.
Mr Budi Karya Sumadi, managing director of PT Angkasa Pura II, the company handling Indonesia’s airports, said that the issue of drugs being brought into Indonesia by citizens of Singapore and Malaysia had been raised in discussions with the country’s Transport Ministry.
According to Bernama, he said: “The ministry agreed that more random checks be done on Malaysians and Singaporeans coming into Indonesia.”
Mr Budi added that the new measures would include having plainclothed enforcement officers haul up suspicious visitors for checks and inspections.
Indonesia is known for its tough anti-drug laws. In 2015, it defied international pressure when it executed eight drug convicts, including two Australians.
In April this year, the country’s Attorney General, H.M. Prasetyo said that Indonesia would resume executions of drug traffickers this year. “We will not stop. We will step up the war on drugs,” he said.
Recently, a Singaporean citizen, Mohammmad Noh Bin Abdul Salam was arrested at Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali for bringing 10 ecstasy (MDMA) pills onto the island.
Reuters, AFP
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