KUALA LUMPUR: The new Advanced Passenger Screening System (APSS) of the Immigration Department is expected to be implemented by mid-June, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He added that the system is one of several new security protocols being put in place at the entry points of the country following the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

“As mentioned by the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak), we are revisiting our SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), especially the protocol of the security at entry points, particularly at KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport),” he told reporters after attending the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation meeting at the Police College in Cheras here yesterday.

The APSS enables the authorities to quickly check the background of people at entry points.

It was launched last year as a pilot project by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore.

Former Immigration Department director-general Datuk Alias Ahmad said the system can quickly check the background of passengers through their passports, and those with a criminal background would be blacklisted and barred from coming to Malaysia.

Dr Ahmad Zahid praised acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein for his handling of the MH370 crisis.

“He has done an excellent job,” Dr Ahmad Zahid said.