Our security is more important By : Zainul Arifin

yipun78

ZAINUL ARIFIN: Our security is more important
By : Zainul Arifin


MANY years ago, the towns near the border with Thailand were porous entry points between the two countries. For example, one could get in and out of Thailand without the need for documents by crossing the rail tracks in Padang Besar, Perlis, or take the boat across Sungai Golok, in Kelantan, right under the eyes of the authorities.
Everyone from both sides knew that those criss-crossing were largely day-trippers out for some shopping, business or social visits. The laxity, one could assume, was a legacy of the past before man-made lines demarcated and divided communities that have existed decades or centuries earlier.

I do not believe that the situation is still the same in Padang Besar or Golok since international dictates, driven by fear and practicalities, require nations to be more vigilant of whom they allow in.

I have been at airports and immigration entry points in many parts of the world where I had some unpleasant experiences because of my name or religion. It included an uncomfortable three-hour "detention" in a room for observation at the US immigration checkpoint in New York.

I have seen a couple who came on the same plane as I did refused entry into the United States and deported back to Malaysia on the next plane. I know of a pensioner who was held in a cell overnight at London Heathrow for not being able to produce the required documents.
I was reminded of the above after reading a newspaper report that suggested Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad was peeved at the lax manner we process visitors into the country. He spoke of a directive for immigration officers to "ask less and smile more" when dealing with foreigners.

In the quest for tourism receipts, our Immigration officials must not be too frisky and be asking visitors too many questions, such as the purpose of their visits, where they would be staying and for how long, or whether they have enough money or return tickets -- questions most visitors would encounter when entering most countries.

But our officers are supposed to smile, stamp the passport and say, "Welcome to Malaysia".

They could be reprimanded if they were extra vigilant in their encounters with foreigners, especially of the tourist kind, at their stations at points of entry.

As a result, he said, Malaysia is now among the easiest countries to enter. At KLIA, it takes less than a minute to pass through, perhaps the fastest Immigration clearance system in the world.

I am not sure if he was being sarcastic or mischievous, but it would be really worrying if it is an accurate description of our current practices when vetting people into the country.

The quest for the tourist dollar is asking us to compromise too much, I think. It made us too relaxed, loose and cavalier.

We also loath turning people away, so we issued 120,000 visas on arrivals. Hence our visa policy is almost redundant if we can issue them at will at points of entry.

What is more damning, 30 per cent of those who got the instant visas, would overstay.

Are we too enamoured by the tourist dollar? I know it is a big foreign exchange earner and is likely to be one of the major contributors to the nation's economy, but there must be certain rules for us to follow to ensure national security and sovereignty are not compromised.

As it is, we now have a large number of illegal immigrants in the country, filling our 11 detention centres nationwide, as well as carpet shops, restaurant kitchens and karaoke lounges.

It is not xenophobia if we were to be strict with foreigners entering our borders. It is our responsibility. We have to be a bit paranoid sometimes.
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Malam tadi ada wa tengok Berita TV3 tentang komplen dari Kesatuan MAS yang pekerja asing dibenarkan berada dan melakukan kerja dibahagian Berisiko Tinggi seperti bahagian bagasi, kargo dan landasan   Should we be extra worry with this lack of security awareness especially in Airport? ummmm disturbing news for me

IceMallet

Dulu2 masa NAM, MAB ada employ part-timers(termasuk adik aku) utk pantau baggage handlers ni...tapi mmg la kawalan kat KLIA kurang ketat berbanding airport2 lain..mcm kat Narita, ikut experience ayah aku, kat situ sentiasa ada bomb sniffing dog team, berkeliaran utk check bagasi..

tin

benda tak jadi lagi. kalo dah jadi, tengok kawalan dia punya ketat, anak dara pon kalah

powerwoot

tul tu, memang standard malaysia la jugak, dah eksiden dan makan nyawa baru le jkr atau majlis nak turap lubang, dah ramai orang kena rompak dan rogol barule polis nak asah kuku macam kat jb, dah teruk macam triad crime kat sabah dan sarawak barule nak bertindak. Boleh dikatakan akan efektifnya sesuatu perkara tu bila dah jadi sesuatu yg tak diingini.

Gemukkkkkkk

aku bersetuju security mesti dipertingkatkan.  

dan aku juga rasakan kerajaan patut proaktif.  

contoh:
risiko keganasan dari puak pelampau mungkin masih rendah, namun kerajaan kena pastikan yang negara kita ni akan sentiasa tidak menjadi sasaran puak pelampau seperti us dan uk.  ok la, mungkin sekarang ni kena berjaga-jaga dengan para ekstremis dari indonesia buat sementara waktu.
risiko serangan pre-emptive pulak, akan sentiasa ada.  terutamanya dari negara-negara yang merasakan malaysia mampu mengancam mereka.

tapi jangan la zoomkan post aku kepada strikes saja.  kena la see the big picture.  sleeper cells, plants, weapons cache/build-up, intelligentsia, etc.


itu kalau ikut scope mpsa la.  boleh consider non-mpsa factors jugak macam vulnerability to vector diseases/epidemic, crime, racial tension, etc.

venez

lately penekanan kepada keselamatan negara agak lack skit, masing2 nak berkejar2 pasal ekonomi jerk... WPI ler, wilayah utara ler... landasan keretapi lajuler, keselamatan n pertahanan macam 3rd n 4rt issue jerk... hmmmmm

geenie

ni situasi yg sbetulnye jadik kt klia sbenarnyer. tk silap aku, mak aku pernah mention, MAB pernah kluarkan statement, tak nak ambik pekerja asing cam bangla n indon tuh keje kat epot. n cume warga negara malaysia jer yg boleh keje kt epot. masa mula2 KLIA bkk dulu, boleh la, semua org masih dlm keadaan teruja. semua2 nak keja kat KLIA, wpun hanya sebagai tukang angkat pinggan kotor kt food court level 2 tu.

tp, lama2, makin kurang. nak tak nak, kena gak ambik pekerja asing ni. mula2, takat utk org yg kutip troli jer.. lelame, smpai la yg tukang angkat beg kt conveyer kt bawah tuh. n latest yg aku prasan, even cleaner Sinar Jernih Sdn Bhd pun abangla. indon takat nih aku tk nmpk lagik

pasal sekuriti. hurm.. tak de la ketat maner.. aku slalu jer kluar dr ofis, lalu kat kastam, tepi kaunter org cop2 pasport tu. even without mab tag (tag aku tesorok dat time) aku still lagi bleh lalu, n tak der org tnyer aku, samada aku ni staff ataupun visitor. ini klau nk keluar dr epot. tp, klau nak masuk ke bhgn belah dlm epot, mmg agak susah. nak masuk, kena scan beg. hatta mknn yg kita tapau. pas tuh, dah scan brg, bdn pn nk kena scan gak (proses yg sama klau korg nak masuk departure hall). then, lepas tuh, korg akan kena scan jari plak. n every body ade pword sendiri. n seingt aku, tk de tmpt yg boleh masuk bhgn dlm epot nih tanpa ada perlu scan jari anda, kecuali, korg bawak registered vehicle ( kenderaan yg korg nmpk ade cam bendera pas, tp betuk bulat tuh) jer yg boleh masuk. so, driver tu tak yah scan jari. tp penumpang, still lagi kena scan jari.

oh ya! ade lagi tmpt yg korg bleh masuk kawasan epot ni tanpa scan jari! dr lcct! kater la korg tak der boarding pass, tp korg ade MAB pass, bleh jer masuk ikut departure hall, n klau ade vehicle kat situ, korg bleh jer pegi dr lcct tuh ke main terminal klia (we call it as MTB) n, boleh la masuk satelite, lalu bawah.

sng kan nak pecah masuk KLIA? wpun kat KLIA tuh ramai jer polis bantuan (yg pkai uniform kaler biru tu bkn polis betul ye, itu polis bantuan sahaja) tp, security tak de lah seketat mana, pada pendapat aku. klau korg kt epot tuh jumper polis bantuan yg poyo2, pecaya lah, itu bdk2 baru. klau yg da lama, diorg da mls nak amik pot.. janji ckup bln duit masuk. tu pn masih merungut gaji tk cukup. keje bkn byk pun... ceh!

riccckyyy

betu.. betulll... wa setuju... ....

Debmey

damn those terrorists. we wouldn't have all these inconveniences had they not hijacked planes full of innocent people.

riccckyyy

and damn those who support and harbour terrorists too...

selamat hari raya debmey.....

yipun78

First serious incident at KLIA


KUALA LUMPUR: It marked the first serious security breach at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport but such mishaps are nothing new to Malaysian airports.  The highest number of security breaches at airports in the country was in 1993.

The first involved a 16-year-old whose body was found in the wheel bay of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 747 which landed in Johannesburg, South Africa, on March 15, 1993.

Investigations later revealed that Shamsul Ramli had climbed into the wheel bay of the aircraft which was parked at the Subang International Airport.

Sixteen days later, a mental patient Mohamed Arif Salleh, 25, was caught sitting in an empty MAS Boeing 737-400 parked at Bay 20 of Terminal One in Subang.  The plane had earlier arrived from Penang.

On April 8, 1993, Johari Kasmin, 25, was detained by a guard near the MAS clinic at the airport's Complex A after he hitched a ride on a van from Terminal Two.

Two days later, Phuah Ang Huat, 38, was detained when he gave Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd guards and Customs officers the slip, dashing into a departure hall.

Phuah, who claimed that he was on a mission from God, was detained by guards.

On April 20, the same year, unemployed Chandrasekaran Karuppan, 37, was arrested after he ran into the baggage section of Terminal One at Subang.

A week later, airport guards arrested shopkeeper Rahaman Saar V.A. Sultan for intrusion at the Penang International Airport departure lounge.

In December 1994, an 18-year-old stowaway was found hiding in a plane at the airport in Subang.

A week earlier, another teenager was found hiding beneath an aircraft at Terminal One.

On March 11, 1995, Indonesian Hapsah Abdul Kadir was found on board a Malaysia Airlines flight bound for Kota Kinabalu without a boarding pass.

yipun78

Red faces over 'phantom' stowaway
By : Lee Shi-Ian and Ranjeetha Pakiam


Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy did not mince words when he said the security breach at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport should have not happened.

"I was angry and upset when I was briefed about the incident and I have told Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to submit a full report and investigation on the incident," he said.

MAHB operations senior general manager Datuk Azmi Murad said surveillance tapes did not reveal the Palestinian anywhere in the airport.
The suspect, Osama R.M. Shublaq, 27, is said to have hidden in the nose wheel well on Flight SQ 119 from Kuala Lumpur late on Thursday night.

He was discovered after falling 2.4m from the nose wheel to the ground at the Changi International Airport in Singapore when it landed just after midnight.

According to Singapore media reports, the suspect was arrested by airport police and charged with entering the country without a valid pass or permit.

"We will co-operate with Singaporean authorities to ascertain how the stowaway managed to sneak aboard the flight," said Azmi.

MAHB senior general manager of security and AFRS services Datuk Kamaruddin Mohd Ismail said it was premature to comment on the issue as Singaporean police were questioning the suspect.

"We have begun our own investigations, but at this juncture, it would be unfair to say anything while the Singaporean police are still investigating the case," Kamaruddin said.

Meanwhile, checks with the Immigration Department revealed that there was no record of the stowaway entering or leaving the country.

"There are no records of the suspect at land, sea or air checkpoints that show he entered or exited the country," said the department's enforcement director Datuk Ishak Mohamed.

Veteran flight staff have expressed amazement that the man survived the journey as he could have been crushed by the retracting nose wheel.

The danger behind what the man is said to have done is underscored by previous cases of stowaways found dead on arrival elsewhere in the world.

They were either killed by the cold, the lack of oxygen at high altitude, or crushed by retracting landing gear.

The air in the wheel well is not pressurised or heated.

If convicted, the man could be jailed for up to six months, caned, or fined up to S$6,000 (RM14,000).

----------------------


KUALA LUMPUR: A Palestinian national who managed to sneak onboard a Singapore-bound Boeing 777-200 via the nose wheel last Thursday did not turn up on any closed-circuit television camera recordings.
And now red-faced officials are wondering how this serious security breach occurred under their noses with airports worldwide tightening security.

tin

hmmm... CCTV hanya boleh nampak di kawasan terbuka. kawasa terlindung pulak macam mana?

lepas nih musti kawalan kat airport kita akan menjadi ketat melebihi anak dara

yipun78

Memang patut pon harap2 keselamatan di KLIA tidak dipandang remeh oleh management mereka, ni bukan isu kecik kan? cam siot je ler kalo orang 'luar' leh naik pesawat lain kat dalam area sendiri... ish ish ish

yipun78

Editorial: Security breach

KUALA Lumpur International Airport won high praise in Airports Council International's Airport Service Quality Awards for its performance last year, being acclaimed last March as the best airport in the 15-25 million passengers per year category.

In attaining this exalted ranking, KLIA topped San Diego International, Zurich and, most satisfyingly to airport operators Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Singapore's Changi -- for long the one to beat.

The criteria for this evaluation included "airport access and connectivity, airport services and facilities, security and immigration, airport environment, arrival services, value for money and overall satisfaction with the airport and airline services".

Changi's management might therefore have been bemused, to put it mildly, at a stowaway tumbling out of the nose wheel-well of a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 landing there after a flight from KLIA.

That Osama Shublaq survived the experience is a wonder enough. Such stowaways are not unheard of, to be sure, but as often as not they arrive dead. An aircraft's wheel-wells are not pressurised or heated.
The 27-year-old Palestinian survived in the wheel-well on a flight that reached a maximum altitude of 7,000m, where temperatures were well below freezing. But the Sepang-Singapore sector is a short hop; maximum altitude is maintained for only six minutes, and half the duration of the scheduled hour-long flight is spent taxiing to and from terminals.

This means the Palestinian gentleman will be in a position to inform authorities on how he managed his feat. Malaysian immigration has no record of his entry into this country from anywhere, whether by land, sea or air. This raises speculation that the stowaway might have arrived off another flight and never left KLIA's "airside", somehow sneaking instead to the SIA plane to squirrel himself into its forward undercarriage.

In a year in which airport security and aircraft maintenance have been the top issues in airport operations, this is an embarrassment. Investigations into this incident must be swift and comprehensive.

Last January, KLIA joined most of the world's major airports in levying a new "security charge" of RM6 for domestic flights and RM9 for international ones, having passengers defray the added costs of checking them and their baggage for liquids, aerosols and gels in addition to the already extensive list of items prohibited on commercial flights.

This extra expense, added to the consequently extended time taken for passenger processing, is devalued without a similarly heightened vigilance on mavericks choosing to avoid the security counters completely.

yipun78

AIRPORT SECURITY BREACH: Police roped in to solve stowaway mystery
By : Eileen Ng and Minderjeet Kaur


PUTRAJAYA: After their probe on the stowaway drew a blank, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has now roped in the police to help solve the mystery of how a Palestinian sneaked on board a Singapore-bound flight.

Five days after Osama R.M. Shublaq flew from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Changi airport undetected in the nose wheel of a Singapore Airlines aircraft, a police report was lodged by MAHB yesterday morning at the airport police station.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said the police report was lodged after the Singapore police forwarded a copy of their report to the ministry on Monday.

"There are still lots of unanswered questions and doubts like what was this guy's intention and how he managed to survive in the nose wheel well," he said yesterday.

Chan refused to divulge the contents of the report by Singapore police, only saying he was now leaving the matter to police here.
He said the ministry had requested additional information and had also sought permission for Malaysian authorities to question the 27-year-old Palestinian.

Closed-circuit television cameras did not pick up the suspect nor were there signs of intrusion through the perimeter fencing at KLIA.

He added MAHB would also be doing its own internal investigations on the matter and was expected to submit a report to the ministry within a week.

On claims that this incident was a major security breach, Chan said the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had conducted a security audit late last year and the airport was found to be in "full compliance" with ICAO requirements.

"I will, however, order MAHB to put in additional security measures, above ICAO specifications," Chan said.

The incident had left KLIA officials red-faced as it happened at a time when airports around the world are tightening security procedures.

Osama was discovered when he fell 2.4 metres from the nose wheel well of the Boeing 777-200 when the plane landed at Changi airport early on Friday.

The Malaysian Immigration Department does not have any records of the stowaway entering or leaving the country.

Flight staff were amazed that the man survived the journey as he could have been crushed by the retracting nose wheel, lack of oxygen at high altitude or the cold.

He was charged with immigration offences in a Singapore court on Friday.

If convicted, he could be jailed up to six months, caned or fined up to S$6,000 (RM14,000).

yipun78

Nation
Monday October 22, 2007

Beef up security, Chan orders MAB

PENANG: Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy has instructed Malaysia Airports Bhd to beef up security at airports.

He said despite airports in Malaysia, especially the KL International Airport, having met security standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, there was still room for improvement.

Speaking to reporters after chairing the Penang MCA liaison committee meeting, Chan said the company had been asked to submit its proposals to the Government as soon as possible.

He was commenting on the incident where Palestinian Osama R.M. Shublaq became a stowaway on board a Singapore Airlines flight.

Shublaq, who was discovered when he fell off the nose wheel of the plane, was deported back to Malaysia by Singapore and had been in remand.

yipun78

MAB diarah perketat langkah keselamatan lapangan terbang


GEORGETOWN: Menteri Pengangkutan, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy, mengarahkan Malaysia Airport Bhd (MAB) mengambil langkah tambahan untuk meningkatkan ciri-ciri keselamatan di lapangan terbang di negara ini.

Beliau berkata, walaupun lapangan terbang di Malaysia terutamanya Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) mematuhi piawaian keselamatan ditetapkan Pertubuhan Penerbangan Awam Antarabangsa (ICAO), namun masih ada ruang bagi pihak itu memperbaiki tahap keselamatan di tempat berkenaan.

Pengurusan MAB diminta mengemukakan cadangan mengenai langkah keselamatan tambahan itu kepada kerajaan untuk diteliti secepat mungkin.

"Walaupun audit ICAO mendapati tahap keselamatan di KLIA menepati piawaiannya, saya mahu MAB jangan terlalu berpuas hati dengan apa yang dicapai sebaliknya meneliti langkah-langkah tambahan supaya keselamatan di lapangan terbang dapat ditingkatkan," katanya kepada pemberita selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat perhubungan MCA Pulau Pinang di sini, semalam.


Beliau berkata demikian ketika ditanya mengenai langkah yang perlu diambil bagi memastikan tahap keselamatan di lapangan terbang yang menjadi antara pintu masuk utama ke negara ini diperketatkan.


Ini berikutan kejadian seorang warga Palestin, Osama R.M.Shublaq berjaya melepasi kawalan keselamatan di KLIA sebelum 'terbang' ke Singapura dengan bersembunyi di bahagian gear pesawat Singapore Airlines (SIA) dan kini dia ditahan reman selama lima hari mulai Jumaat lalu di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Sepang.

alphawolf

kawalan atas anak dara yang ketat ke...anak dara tu sendiri yang ketat?

yipun78

AS puji Malaysia

SINGAPURA 1 Jun - Amerika Syarikat (AS) memuji Malaysia atas kesungguhannya memainkan peranan yang berkesan dalam kerjasama keselamatan antarabangsa dan serantau.

Setiausaha Pertahanan AS, Robert Gates berkata, Malaysia telah membuktikan kemampuan dalam memelihara keselamatan di Selat Melaka.

"Malaysia berjaya memainkan peranan bukan sahaja dari segi melindungi keselamatannya sendiri tetapi juga membantu melindungi Selat Melaka daripada ancaman lanun dan pengganas," katanya.

Gates berkata demikian selepas mengadakan pertemuan dengan Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak pada Sidang Kemuncak Keselamatan Asia Ketujuh di sini hari ini.

Persidangan itu yang juga dikenali sebagai Dialog Shangri-La dianjurkan oleh Institut Antarabangsa untuk Pengajian Strategik (IISS) Singapura.

Ia merupakan forum keselamatan Asia yang utama di rantau ini dengan 27 negara menyertainya pada tahun ini.

Selain negara-negara Asia, turut terlibat pada persidangan kali ini ialah negara-negara Barat seperti AS, Perancis, Britain dan Australia.

Sementara itu, Gates berkata, hubungan antara Malaysia dan AS khususnya dari sudut pertahanan adalah cukup baik ketika ini.

"Kami menggunakan peluang ini untuk berbincang mengenai hubungan ketenteraan kedua-dua negara yang kini adalah baik. Kami berdua melihat wujud peluang untuk mengukuhkan hubungan yang sedia ada.

"Kami juga berbincang mengenai persediaan yang telah diambil bagi tujuan misi bantuan kemanusiaan bagi memastikan ia lebih tersusun," jelasnya.

Dalam pada itu, Najib yang hadir sama pada sidang akhbar tersebut mengalu-alukan kenyataan Gates berhubung kerjasama bilateral kedua-dua negara.

"Kami juga berbincang mengenai perkembangan di rantau Asia Tenggara termasuk isu-isu yang melibatkan keselamatan serantau," ujar Najib.