AKPS Director General Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain speaks during a special media session in Putrajaya. .—AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star.
PUTRAJAYA: Plans are underway to send frontline Malaysia Border Control and Protection Agency officers for training with the Australian Border Force (ABF), says Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain.
The agency’s director-general said it was aimed at giving officers firsthand exposure to international border control standards practised by the ABF.
"The initiative aims to strengthen integrity and professionalism among frontline personnel, who are often not sufficiently exposed to global best practices.
“Many of our frontline officers rarely get the opportunity to see how highly respected agencies operate overseas. We want them to experience it themselves so that they can feel proud of their role and understand what world-class border enforcement looks like,” he said in a special media session on Tuesday (Dec 16).
Comm Mohd Shuhaily said the ABF is regarded as a benchmark for its strict, disciplined border control measures.
"Visitors (to Australia) are highly conscious of compliance upon arrival, such as ensuring their footwear is free from soil, as Australia enforces stringent biosecurity laws.
“That level of respect and awareness comes without constant reminders. If one day Malaysia can command that same level of respect from visitors, then I would have achieved what I set out to do,” he lamented.
Beyond enforcement practices, Comm Mohd Shuhaily emphasised the importance of officers' language proficiency.
"English has become essential, while Arabic language skills could also be valuable depending on operational needs.
"In the future, I want my frontline officers to be proficient in other languages, including French.
"By being able to converse in various languages, our officers can cater to various international visitors while elevating the agency to a higher standard," he said.
On institutional development, Comm Mohd Shuhaily said that agencies such as the ABF took nearly a decade to reach their current level and that inter-agency challenges persist.
"We need time and support to establish the agency to be formidable and fully operational properly," he added.
He also noted that countries adopt different structural models. In Australia and the United States, border protection largely falls under a customs-led framework, whereas in Singapore it is immigration-led.
"I don’t have a definitive answer as to which model is best,” he said, adding that the formation of new agencies is often driven by the need to break away from legacy problems inherited from older systems.
"The challenge is to neutralise those old legacies so they do not carry over into new organisations, even if the personnel remain largely the same,” he said.
He acknowledged that the justification for creating new border agencies is not always clearly explained and remains a complex issue, with technology expected to play a key role in future improvements.
