Matta: Airport security must stop ‘molesting’ passengers

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian airport authorities should invest and upgrade its screening technology for passengers instead of frisking them like “common criminals”, said Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA).

Its president Datuk Hamzah Rahmat said he had observed such practices at Malaysian airports, which he claimed were not leaving a good impression of the country on visitors.

“The practice should be stopped. The directive to continue conducting body search on passengers by way of ‘molesting’ them must be from someone who has not travelled out of Malaysia for the past 20 years.

“Malaysia needs to invest and upgrade its screening technology, which is not on par with other international airports,” he said.

Airports in Bangkok, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, he said, had full-body screening machines at their departure halls.

“If we are so concerned about security, why are we not introducing these hi-tech equipment like most other countries with a high number of passengers at their airports?” asked Hamzah.

The United States Transport Security Administration (TSA) uses advanced imaging technology (AIT) and walk-through metal detectors to screen passengers without the need for physical contact.

According to the TSA, the techno­logy can detect metallic and non-metallic items such as concealed wea­pons and explosives.

Passengers who are concerned about privacy have the option to decline the AIT screening in favour of physical screening.

However, pat-downs are used by the TSA for random checks or when the screening system’s alarm is triggered.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) did not respond when asked to comment but the issue has been hotly debated in Parliament before.

In November 2014, Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin had claimed that some passengers were being “fondled” (diraba) at Malaysian airports and might be “sexually stimulated” while undergoing security pat-downs.

Bung Mokhtar questioned why MAHB did not use handheld scanners for passengers who had triggered metal detectors at security checkpoints.

He said that resorting to manual pat-downs made passengers uncomfortable.

He also claimed that Malaysia and the Philippines were the only Asean countries that continued to employ manual body checks at their airports.