KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry is developing the KDN Master Plan, on National Border Security Control, to further strengthen security at Malaysia's borders.
In a written reply published on the Parliament portal, the Home Ministry stated it would provide a comprehensive master plan framework through the development of integrated strategies and action plans involving various ministries, agencies, and other government bodies involved in national border control.
"This master plan will be implemented based on two strategic focuses: strengthening national border security control operations and enhancing the capacity of national border control.
"The strategic focus designed to strengthen national border security control will be implemented based on the five-front approach, namely the North (Kedah, Perlis, and Perak); East (Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang); South (Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, and Johor); Sabah; and Sarawak," the statement read.
This was in response to a question from Mordi Bimol (Pakatan-Mas Gading), who wanted to know the steps to ensure the jurisdiction and cooperation among authorities involved in combating the rampant smuggling of controlled and prohibited goods at the Indonesia-Sarawak border.
Besides that, the Home Ministry said it was implementing a Feasibility Study for the Development of the National Border Control System (NBCS) as an effort to empower the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in border security control.
It said the proposed development of NBCS was a strategic step to strengthen national border security through the use of the latest technology in line with current global advancements.
"The proposed NBCS will be equipped with the latest surveillance systems and AI technology to enable unsupervised operations, smart control processes, rapid real-time information dissemination, and continuous 24/7 surveillance to protect Malaysia's land and maritime borders for the nation's peace, stability, and sovereignty.
"The use of AI technology will enable effective object verification, avoid false alarms, and assist security forces in decision-making to enhance the overall efficiency of border security," the statement added.
The NBCS Feasibility Study, under the Third Rolling Plan of the 12th Malaysia Plan, is being carried out by the Institute of Public Security of Malaysia through the appointment of a research team and public university experts.
It started on 7th September last year and is expected to be completed this November.
In a separate reply, the Home Ministry said the number of citizenship applications received by the National Registration Department between January and 10th June this year was 3,030, and they have been processed according to established procedures and regulations.
This was in response to a question from Jimmy Puah Wee Tse (Pakatan-Tebrau), who wanted to know the number of citizenship applications that have been processed, pending, and approved since January. – Bernama
