Enhanced entry point security plan to be presented to Cabinet on Wednesday, says home minister

“Insya-Allah, tomorrow I will jointly present it with my colleague, the transport minister, because the comprehensive plan has elements that fall under the jurisdiction of the Transport Ministry (MOT),” he said at the Home Ministry monthly assembly here on Tuesday.

Saifuddin Nasution said the comprehensive plan took into account the need to strengthen coordination among agencies so that there would no longer be a silo approach in controlling the country’s entry points.

He said the aspects being studied included improving human resource competency, infrastructure requirements, closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems, scanning machines, as well as training for personnel operating the machines.

“We want to see which areas can be improved and will look at all the requirements comprehensively,” he said.

The issue of airport security controls has come under scrutiny following several cases involving Malaysians recently, including the detention of a Malaysian pilot after about 25 kilogrammes of MDMA were seized at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Indonesia.

Following this, the Cabinet was reported to have directed the Home Ministry and MOT to submit a comprehensive plan to improve security controls at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) within two weeks.

The directive followed the government’s concerns over the latest incident, which was seen as potentially tarnishing the country’s image and creating a perception of weaknesses in the security control system at the premises.

Elaborating, Saifuddin Nasution said the plan was formulated by combining the knowledge, experience and expertise of various agencies under the Home Ministry, MOT and other relevant agencies.

He said the measure was important to ensure that weaknesses at the country’s entry points could be identified and addressed comprehensively, as well as to prevent incidents that could tarnish the country’s image from recurring.

“I appreciate the fact that (Home Ministry) has produced a plan that will strengthen controls at the entry points so that incidents (of drug smuggling) do not recur,” he said.

On the investigation into the pilot’s case, Saifuddin Nasution said the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) had received good cooperation from the Indonesian authorities and had interviewed the suspect for further action.

“The information we obtained will help us determine whether this is part of an international syndicate network or an individual act, and so on.

“This will allow us to subsequently identify where the weaknesses or shortcomings are at our country’s exit or entry points,” he said.

In a separate press conference, Saifuddin Nasution said the PDRM was actively conducting a comprehensive investigation into the case involving the pilot detained in Indonesia recently.

Asked whether the authorities would extradite the pilot, he said the matter would be determined after the PDRM, through the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID), completed its investigation, and would also be subject to the laws of the country concerned.

“I tend to say that we should allow the NCID to complete its investigation first before determining the next course of action, including whether we want to bring him back and so on.

“The fact that he was detained there means that he is, of course, subject to the laws of the country where he was detained, and that country has its own laws and so on,” he said.

He said the PDRM, through the NCID, had so far obtained important information and leads regarding the drug smuggling case involving the man.

“For us now, it is about obtaining as much information as possible from the subject to understand the pattern of drug smuggling.

“Whether it is part of organised crime or individual acts and so on. We need to establish all the facts before determining the next course of action,” he said.