Home minister: Malaysia’s entry points to get security boost after drug scandal

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (third, right) and his deputy Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah (second, right) attended the Home Ministry's (KDN) Monthly Assembly for August at the Setia Perkasa Auditorium today. — Bernama pic

First Published: Tuesday, 18 Aug 2026 12:03 PM MYT

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 18 — A comprehensive plan to enhance security at the country’s entry points will be presented to the Cabinet tomorrow, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

He said the plan would be jointly presented with Transport Minister Anthony Loke at the meeting.

The plan was prepared within two weeks following a Cabinet directive to strengthen controls at the country’s entry points through the coordination of various relevant agencies.

“Insya-Allah, tomorrow I will jointly present it with my colleague, the Transport Minister, because the comprehensive plan has elements that fall under the jurisdiction of the Transport Ministry (MOT),” he said at the Home Ministry monthly assembly here today.

Saifuddin Nasution said the comprehensive plan took into account the need to strengthen coordination among agencies so that there would no longer be a silo approach in controlling the country’s entry points.

He said the aspects being studied included improving human resource competency, infrastructure requirements, closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems, scanning machines, as well as training for personnel operating the machines.

“We want to see which areas can be improved and will look at all the requirements comprehensively,” he said.

The issue of airport security controls has come under scrutiny following several cases involving Malaysians recently, including the detention of a Malaysian pilot after about 25 kilogrammes of MDMA were seized at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Indonesia.

Following this, the Cabinet was reported to have directed the Home Ministry and MOT to submit a comprehensive plan to improve security controls at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) within two weeks.

The directive followed the government’s concerns over the latest incident, which was seen as potentially tarnishing the country’s image and creating a perception of weaknesses in the security control system at the premises.

Elaborating, Saifuddin Nasution said the plan was formulated by combining the knowledge, experience and expertise of various agencies under the Home Ministry, MOT and other relevant agencies.

He said the measure was important to ensure that weaknesses at the country’s entry points could be identified and addressed comprehensively, as well as to prevent incidents that could tarnish the country’s image from recurring.

“I appreciate the fact that (Home Ministry) has produced a plan that will strengthen controls at the entry points so that incidents (of drug smuggling) do not recur,” he said.

On the investigation into the pilot’s case, Saifuddin Nasution said the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) had received good cooperation from the Indonesian authorities and had interviewed the suspect for further action.

“The information we obtained will help us determine whether this is part of an international syndicate network or an individual act, and so on.

“This will allow us to subsequently identify where the weaknesses or shortcomings are at our country’s exit or entry points,” he said. — Bernama