Abdul Khalik, Sirikin, Serawak, Malaysia – While it is illegal to cross the West Kalimantan-Serawak border without permits, a flourishing international trade has been benefiting citizens on both sides of the border for years.

Beginning early in the morning, motorcycles, vans, buses and trucks pass back and forth along the road from Jagoi Babang in Indonesia to Malaysia carrying goods ranging from vegetables and sugar to LPG (liquefied petroleum gas).

A Javanese vegetable trader told The Jakarta Post it was easy to cross the border here, some 400 kilometers northwest of Pontianak, and sell goods in the Malaysian town of Sirikin.

"We just deliver the merchandise, and Malaysian traders from Kuching will be very happy to buy our goods in Sirikin. There is no problem for us to cross the border, as we do it every day," said Suryanto, who has been living in the area for years.

An officer at the local police office said the illegal trade was necessary for area residents. He said a bus carrying passengers from nearby towns such as Bengkayang or Singkawang to the border would carry much cheaper sugar from Malaysia when it returned.

"The sugar is illegal but it helps people because it is cheaper and available. If we depended on sugar deliveries from Pontianak or other places in Indonesia, it wouldn't be enough, and... we couldn't afford it," the officer, who asked for anonymity, told the Post.

He said, however, that money extortion from police, military officers and thugs along the way cut the traders' profits considerably. "I feel pity for traders because they work hard but someone else takes advantage. It also applies to other goods from Malaysia as officials know they are illegal," the officer said.

Deden Putra, who used to buy LPG from Sirikin and sell it in Indonesia, wished the government would legalize cross-border trade activities to create certainty for traders and stop officials and thugs from extorting them. "If the government can't provide us with basic goods, we need it to allow us to fulfill our needs ourselves," he said.

It is no secret that most people living along the border areas depend on illegal LPG supplies from Malaysia, as the Indonesian government has been unable to meet the demand, he said. Both sides benefited, he added, saying Malaysians preferred the quality of Indonesian fruits and vegetables.

An observation on the Sirikin market showed that as the trucks carrying Indonesian produce arrived, scores of Malaysian buyers stood ready to purchase them. Dedan said if regulated properly the cross-border economic activities could be very beneficial to local people, and would spur economic development in the areas.

"What we need is certainty and facilitation. The economic opportunity is wide open, as Malaysians will buy every product we offer," he said.