KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Singapore have announced a new agreement to combat drug trafficking between the two countries, the home ministries from both countries said on Tuesday evening. The new agreement will see the Southeast Asian countries' work together towards a common goal of a “drug-free society” and will increase “cross-border cooperation to achieve this goal,” the Bernama news agency reported. The new deal was inked by Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean and his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, at the home ministry in Malaysia during a meeting of the two. “The key areas of focus under this MoU include strengthening capabilities of the enforcement agencies through joint training and mutual exchanges, and deepening enforcement capacity through frequent joint investigations and joint operations,” the statement said. At the press conference to announce the new agreement, Teo said Malaysia and Singapore enjoyed “very good cooperation” over the past decade in conducting about 50 combined operations againt the drug menace. He noted that the signing of the deal “cemented the relationship and provided a strong foundation for both countries” to tackle the drug problem. “It sends a strong signal to those who deal in drugs, who want to cause harm to the people, on both sides of our borders, that we are determined to intensify our cooperation in this area to deal precisely with them and the drug menace,” he said. Hishammuddin said there was a realisation that the issues were very complex, adding that the world was becoming “very borderless and not one country nor one agency or ministry can overcome the issue of transnational crime”. “So, we are starting with drugs … it is not a piece of paper that we are signing, it is more of getting results. “There is a very tough complex world out there, but with the right agencies and right political will and the right intention on the part of the leaderships of both countries, I believe we will be able to overcome (the issues) because this is an evil that must be fought and it has got to be fought, right to the root of the problem,” he said. Teo added that both countries were already working together on a variety of issues, and that the “drug scourge” was just one of the important issues. “I think, what's happening is, that the drug trade, because it is so lucrative, it is very internationalized … and drugs are transported all over the world…the borders of Singapore and Malaysia are no exception. “What happens to the drug trade is that they try to exploit the weaknesses and the gap in enforcement across borders. Both Singapore and Malaysia employ the death penalty for drug-related crimes, which has sparked outrage among international human rights organizations, who have repeatedly called on both countries to end capital punishment.
