KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian Customs Department achieved 100% scanning of inbound containers at West Port last year.
In a statement on Sunday (March 16), Customs said they used five high-capacity scanning machines to scan approximately 1.42 million imported containers, including electrical and electronic waste (e-waste)
"On average, only 5,000 containers pass through the scanners for import clearance daily. Most are processed as transshipment cargo, with the remainder awaiting importers’ declaration in the container yard.
"Physical inspections are conducted on containers suspected of carrying prohibited goods based on scan images that do not match the declared trade descriptions.
"All container traffic routes are also equipped with CCTV," the statement read.
The physical inspections of e-waste shipments are conducted in collaboration with the Environment Department and scrap trade inspections are carried out with the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (Sirim).
Service charges for these inspections range from RM500 to RM700, payable by importers to the port operator.
According to the statement, Customs conducted a special e-waste operation at Port Klang between August 2024 and February this year, where 348 out of 389 containers inspected were found to contain e-waste.
There were also 26 cases of e-waste imports at Penang Port from January 2024 to February 2025.
"All containers seized have been handed over to the Environment Department and ordered to be shipped back to their country of origin, with costs borne by the importers," the statement read.
Regarding the import of firearms, Customs clarified that such imports are subject to the Customs (Prohibition of Imports) Order 2023, which are only permitted if the importer holds a license issued by the state Chief Police Officer under the Arms Act 1960 (Act 206).
"The discovery of spent shell casings, projectiles, ammunition residue, and live bullets does not classify them as firearms.
"If there is any doubt regarding containers carrying firearms, a joint inspection with the Royal Malaysia Police will be conducted, and the items will be handed over to them for further action.
"Spent shell casings and projectiles not in their original form, as well as ammunition residue, are classified as copper scrap. Importation is subject to Sirim approval,” the statement added. - Bernama
