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SANDAKAN - The Cabinet has given the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) and the Ministry of Transport (MOT) two weeks to submit a comprehensive plan to strengthen airport security.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the move followed the Cabinet's concern over recent incidents that had affected the country's image and created the impression that there are weaknesses in airport security.
"The Cabinet takes a serious view of the incidents that have occurred, as they give the impression that security controls at our airports have been breached. Immediate steps are being taken to draft a detailed improvement plan involving various agencies," he told a press conference yesterday.
Earlier, Saifuddin visited several islands in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESS Zone) with foreign diplomats. Also present were ESSCOM commander Datuk Victor Sanjos and its chief executive officer Datuk Dr Jamaluddin Mohd Ali.
Attention has turned to airport security following several recent cases involving Malaysians, including the arrest of a Malaysian pilot after about 25kg of MDMA drugs was seized at Indonesia's Soekarno-Hatta Airport last week.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin said KDN is also stepping up efforts to encourage diplomats and foreign representatives to review and relax travel advisories for the east coast of Sabah, following the improved security situation in the area.
"Several foreign countries, including Japan and Switzerland, have already amended their travel advisories as a result of continuous briefings and proof of stability in the local security environment," he said.
The initiative was reinforced through a security familiarisation visit involving 14 diplomatic representatives, who visited strategic locations and key tourist destinations.
"This programme brings foreign representatives to visit the ESS Zone to see for themselves the state of peace and tourism potential, thereby enabling them to convey accurate, factual and balanced information to their respective countries," he said.
Commenting on security controls in the area, he said between January and June 30, ESSCOM conducted 897,293 inspections and made 307 arrests.
He added that enforcement operations over the six-month period also recorded 38 seizures valued at RM23.37 million through tight controls on land and in state waters.
To ensure national sovereignty continues to be safeguarded, Saifuddin stressed that the federal government has allocated a total of RM723 million to the ESS Zone over ESSCOM's 13 years of operation for asset procurement, operations and logistics. - BERNAMA
