Malaysia will launch a new maritime agency next month to boost security in the piracy-prone Straits of Malacca, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said today.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency will "focus on the Straits of Malacca as part of its first phase," Najib told reporters.

The agency would liaise with other government departments to determine which areas of the vulnerable strait to concentrate on due to its limited resources, he said.

"This is to maximise effectiveness. We want to assure Malaysians and the international community that the agency is an authoritative and capable one," he said.

The agency, which will commence operations on Nov 30, was set up to bolster security in Malaysia's territorial waters, enforce maritime laws and conduct search and rescue operations.

It will initially have a fleet of 72 vessels drawn from the Marine Department, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Police and Royal Malaysian Customs.

Najib said there were also plans to acquire helicopters to be used in search and rescue operations.

Agency to cost half a billion

The government has allocated some RM69 million to set up the agency this year. For next year, the allocation will increase to RM509 million, Najib said.

The agency will start off with 500 personnel, but will eventually number over 4,000, he said.

The Malacca Straits, shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, is one of the world's busiest stretches of water, through which some 50,000 ships carry about a third of the world's freight.

The waterway, 960 kilometres long and 1.2 kilometres wide at its narrowest point, is notoriously vulnerable to pirate attacks and governments in the region also believe it could be a tempting target for terrorists.

Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have recently launched joint military air patrols to aid efforts to counter piracy and terrorism in the straits.