KUCHING, Nov 22 — Ba’Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian today urged authorities to investigate claims that the General Operation Force (GOF) personnel at the border post in his constituency had demanded RM200 to RM1,000 from the Indonesian visitors attending a recent Lun Bawang Festival.

He said he had received such complaints from two Long Bawang district officers from Indonesia who were in the delegation that attended the festival in the state.

He said they alleged that some members of the delegation were asked to pay money to the GOF personnel manning the border post.

"These were legitimate visitors who had complete and proper inter-border documents (Pas Lintas Batas) when they passed through the border post,” Baru said when debating the state Budget 2024 in the state assembly here.

He claimed that there have been incidents in the past where the personnel allegedly asked for up to RM1,500.

"There were also instances where upon leaving, some of the rations bought in Lawas were also taken by these personnel at the border,” he said.

Baru said he was informed that the rules on contraband items also appeared to change according to who was manning the border post, causing confusion due to the inconsistency.

He said there have been numerous complaints about incidents like this for many years but no action has been taken to stop it.

"This ugly practice gives our Indonesian neighbours an extremely negative perception of Sarawak and deters them from visiting us,” he said, adding that he understands that the state authorities had investigated the incident that he had brought up in June this year and asked to know its outcome.

He said Sarawak needs people of integrity who are honest and sincere to man the border posts, saying that corrupt officers who bully the Indonesian visitors must be dealt with severely to clean up the GOF.

"I am extremely disappointed that while we are aiming to be an efficient administration with the sustainable development goal (SDG) in mind, we are being let down by officers who abuse their positions to enrich themselves,” he said.