SEPANG: Having a single entity to manage border control will ensure better coordination and communication, stronger border surveillance, better services and also cost efficiency, says Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Malaysia Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA), Saifuddin listed three reasons that drove the formation of the agency tasked to manage border control and protection.
ALSO READ: Groups: Single border agency will ease travel
These are national security, economic protection as well as public health and safety.
“It is all about national security and if the borders are not well protected then national security will be at stake and exposed to criminal elements such as illegal weapons and criminals,” he said adding that competent border control will reduce such risks.
“We will be able to form stronger accountability and oversight. There will be clear responsibilities and it will be easier to enforce policies,” he said at the MCBA inaugural ceremony at KLIA Terminal 1 here on Sunday(Feb 2).
He said this would also be cost-efficient as it reduced administrative overhead costs, avoided duplication of effort and reduced resource wastage.
At a press conference later, Saifuddin said the MCBA operations would be expanded to more gateways including the Penang and Kota Kinabalu airports.
He said 141 border points consisting of land, air and sea borders have been identified. He said based on data from initial operations at 19 border checkpoints, he said the government would expand operations to more places.
“We will arrange according to priority,” he said, adding that international airports will be prioritised.
“The busiest (airport) besides KLIA is Penang followed by Kota Kinabalu. Although the Deputy Prime Minister II (Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof) is from Sarawak he asked for Kota Kinabalu and only then Kuching and others,” he said in a press conference which was also attended by Fadillah, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil and MCBA director-general Comm Datuk Seri Hazani Ghazali.
As for staffing in MCBA, Saifuddin said no new hiring was made but instead, manpower was brought in from the agencies under MCBA. For example, over 1,000 personnel members were brought in from the Royal Malaysian Customs.
