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International News

Advance Screening For Visitors To Malaysia

September 01, 2011 posted by Steve Brownstein

Malaysia wants to introduce the Advance Passenger Screening System (APSS) to combat transnational crimes like human trafficking and drug smuggling.

The system, used by countries like the United States and Australia, will enable the authorities to screen visitors, particularly the “unfavourable ones”, even before they enter the country.

If the system is implemented, the authorities can check the background of each visitor and cross check the information with foreign counterparts to determine if the person has any criminal record or been blacklisted or is on a “watch list”.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the system should be implemented because Malaysia was considered a transit point for several transnational crimes.

He said the Government was serious in tackling the issue as it did not want the country to be used for such crimes, adding that the business of security had become complex and challenging due to globalisation.

“We already have the biometric system implemented which is working well. Once everything has been settled, we shall look into the APSS.

“I want the public to know that the Government and the Home Ministry are committed to protecting the safety and security of the country and its people. We are doing all we can to ensure that Malaysians can sleep well at night,” he told The Star in an interview.

Hishammuddin had earlier attributed the success of re-arresting Jemaah Islamiah sleeper agent Agus Salim to the biometric system, under which the authorities were able to detect Agus, who was using an Indonesian passport with a false name to enter the country.

The system has several modules, such as Advance Passenger Processing, which allows information, including flight details and the passport number of a passenger, to be sent in advance before he even lands in Malaysia.

The Passenger Name Record module will have extensive information on the passenger to be sent to the authorities of the country he wishes to visit, including the person he is seated next to during travel and other countries he has visited.

The Risk Assessment and Profiling module is able to analyse APP and PNR data to look for possible suspects while the facial recognition module will help prevent identity fraud or identify travellers using multiple passports.