In a bid to protect the nation from further terrorism threats, Indonesian immigration plans to tighten its security through database sharing and is asking authorities to deny entry to suspicious foreigners.
An immigration official suggested that the government include database sharing among state agencies in their anti-terror laws to further secure the nation’s borders.
Insisting that Indonesia needs an integrated system for border protection, Ronny Sompie, Law and Human Rights Ministry Director General for Immigration, claimed that data sharing across agencies – immigration, customs and excise, quarantine, and intelligence and anti-terrorism bodies – could help immigration take preventive measures before allowing the wrong people to enter the country.
“If records are shared by immigration and customs and excise, when we get information from anti-terror or intelligence bodies, it will be easier for [immigration] to take early action before we hand a case over to competent investigators,” Sompie said as reported by The Jakarta Post.
In addition, Sompie claimed that the immigration office could have authority to deny entry to suspicious foreigners, even if they have yet to be featured on the black list.
Referring to the 2003 terrorism draft law revision, which is currently still under review, Sompie called for the House of Representatives, or better known as Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR), to consider including articles required to grant such authority to agencies monitoring security across all borders; airports, seaports and other land security posts.
Featured Image by Metro TV News (MI/Susanto)