Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution reiterated Malaysia’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with China to combat transnational crimes, particularly fraud, in order to safeguard regional peace and stability.
He stated this stance today (11th) during a bilateral meeting with Chinese Vice Minister of Public Security and Director of the National Immigration Administration, Wang Zhizhong, held on the sidelines of the 19th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC).
He also conveyed, on behalf of Malaysia, deep appreciation for the longstanding partnership between the two countries, both at the bilateral level and within ASEAN.
"Threats such as human trafficking, cybercrime, drugs, terrorism, and money laundering know no borders. Therefore, this requires us to strengthen regional cooperation."
Saifuddin emphasized the need to promote capacity-building programs, joint training initiatives, and the sharing of real-time information to enhance operational coordination among law enforcement agencies.
He welcomed further cooperation under the AMMTC plus China mechanism, including the implementation of the ASEAN–China Action Plan on Combating Transnational Crime.
He suggested regularly holding joint workshops and dialogues, especially in the fields of cybercrime prevention and counter-terrorism, as well as cooperation in digital forensics, big data analysis, and the application of artificial intelligence in law enforcement.
He pointed out that, at the bilateral level, Malaysia intends to promote the establishment of a specialized working group to address transnational crimes, improve ASEAN mechanisms, and welcomes exchanges through police academies, scholarships, and joint crime prevention research.
"We are confident that by strengthening cooperation under the ASEAN platform, we can make substantive progress in protecting people from the threat of transnational crime."
Ministers and senior officials responsible for security and combating transnational crime from ASEAN countries are gathering in Melaka from the 8th to the 12th of this month to attend the 19th AMMTC and related meetings, making the state a regional focus.