customs and border protection media release

Customs and Border Protection post opens in Kuala Lumpur - 4 February 2010

Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia, Her Excellency Penny Williams, today officially opened the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service post in Kuala Lumpur.

The post was established as part of a whole-of-government funding initiative to counter maritime people smuggling in the region.

The High Commissioner said Australia and Malaysia have been working cooperatively for many years to help improve security in the South-East Asia Region and the new post will further strengthen this relationship.

“The officers at the post will work closely with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Royal Malaysian Customs and the Royal Malaysia Police to help maintain the integrity and security of Malaysia’s borders.

“The cooperation will primarily focus on addressing maritime people smuggling, but also numerous other border issues including counter proliferation and counter terrorism,” the High Commissioner said.

In addition to increasing the ability to jointly mitigate border risks, the new post will enable greater knowledge sharing between the two countries.

As part of this initiative, Customs and Border Protection will deliver an Inter Agency Border Strengthening workshop in Kuala Lumpur in April. The workshop will focus on inter-agency cooperation between border agencies responsible for customs, immigration and transport in Malaysia.

The official opening of the post was attended by Customs and Border Protection representatives, as well as representatives from Malaysian partner agencies and other embassies. 

Customs and Border Protection would like to thank the Malaysian Government for their support in establishing the post.

Media enquiries:
For further details contact Customs and Border Protection Communication and Media (02) 6275 6793