Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat confirmed that the National Security Council (MKN) communicated the approval recently. The wall will be built along the Tumpat-Tanah Merah stretch.

“Recently, the chief secretary to the government (Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar) conducted a visit to the border with officials from the department of irrigation and drainage.

“The project was discussed with the chief secretary and the MKN for additional funding. It is now in the quotation and tender process,” he said at a press conference at the Kelantan police headquarters today.

Yusoff said the security wall will serve a dual purpose of curbing cross-border crime and as a flood barrier.

This follows a Bernama report last Sunday, in which residents of Rantau Panjang expressed that the “two-in-one” wall is necessary to prevent security breaches along the border and also contain the Sungai Golok overflow during the monsoon season, which threatens homes and businesses annually.

On Oct 13, Yusoff was reported as saying that the construction of the security wall along Sungai Golok in Rantau Panjang, Pasir Mas, was no longer just an option but crucial to curb smuggling and safeguarding national sovereignty along the Kelantan-Thailand border.

He explained that the narrow, shallow nature of Sungai Golok renders conventional security measures, even those aided by AI, drones, or CCTV, largely ineffective.