KANGAR, Nov 30 — The Perlis government will hold discussions with the Thai border authorities on matters involving common interests in various fields, particularly border security issues.

State Islamic Religious Affairs, Welfare and Disaster Relief and Border Relations and Cooperation committee chairman Rozaini Rais said the discussions would be held as soon as the Malaysia-Thailand border is fully opened.

“With the current developments in the border area now, it is appropriate for the discussions to be held immediately in order to reach a consensus for the common good,” he told Bernama.

The issue of Malaysia-Thailand border security receives much attention following an incident last Tuesday of a shootout between the General Operations Force with two groups of smugglers at the Border Wall TS9 in Padang Besar, killing one of its members, Sergeant Baharuddin Ramli, 54, and injuring another, Sergeant Norihan a / l Tari, 39.

Rozaini said the discussions to be held later would also include aspects of bilateral economy and trade, tourism, culture and sports. — Bernama