Malaysian minister says no funds for tech to screen for child porn in airports

Zahidi says the Multimedia and Communications Ministry lacks funding for a technology where visitors’ devices of can be scanned at airports to detect child porn

He was responding to an opposition MP in Parliament who questioned the lack of political will to tackle the issue

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Malaysia’s Deputy Multimedia and Communications Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin. Photo: Bernama via The Star

Published: 4:26pm, 3 Aug 2020Updated: 4:30pm, 3 Aug 2020

The lack of funding is why Malaysian airports do not have the technology that can scan for child pornography, Deputy Multimedia and Communications Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin said on Monday.

“It requires an allocation and budget from the Finance Ministry,” said Zahidi in response to Kasthuri Patto (PH-Batu Kawan) in Parliament on Monday.

Kasturi had asked whether the government would emulate other countries such as Australia, in adopting technology to arrest individuals possessing child pornography at airports.

She said that convicted paedophile Richard Huckle was arrested at London’s Gatwick Airport in 2014 after his electronic devices were found to contain a large amount of child pornography.

“How serious is the government on this issue and is the government ready to invest in such technology, as well as provide training to civil servants to track down paedophiles?” she said.

Zahidi said many countries are currently using a technology where the electronic devices of travellers can be scanned at airports to detect child pornography.