Advertisement
Advertisement

Blitz on airport security

Ian Stewart

THE Government is studying a scheme for a special undercover squad to make regular checks on the efficiency of security personnel at Kuala Lumpur's Subang airport, following a series of embarrassing incidents.

Three security guards are to face disciplinary action after an Indonesian woman who boarded a flight without a ticket or boarding pass.

The moves were announced by the Transport Minister Dr Ling Liong Sik after Cabinet discussed a report by a senior government official.

Dr Ling said the disciplinary action was recommended in the report, which attributed lax security at the airport to weak supervision and lack of vigilance among security personnel.

'We will have to work out ways to instil a sense of vigilance,' he said.

He said the report noted security weaknesses still existed at Malaysia Airports Berhad, which runs the airport, the Immigration Department and Malaysian Airlines (MAS).

The Indonesian woman, Hapsah Abdul Kadir, 36, had to pass through several checkpoints before boarding an MAS flight to Kota Kinabalu, capital of Sabah, on the island of Borneo.

The woman, on her way to Pontianak, in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, told the Immigration Department she had just followed boarding passengers.

Her breaching of security followed the entry of a 14-year-old British boy, Peter Kerry, into Malaysia last month using his father's passport.

Dr Ling said Cabinet had directed the relevant departments to strengthen their respective security systems.

'The security systems are already in place but what is important is supervision,' he said.

The task of the proposed undercover team would be to try to break through checkpoints and to test the competence of security personnel.

Post