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Customs goes high-tech for smoother flow of traffic. |
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Wednesday, 10 October 2007 |
JOHOR BARU, 9 Oct (The Star) -- Two new tactics implemented by The Royal Malaysian Customs to check smuggling will see smooth flowing traffic and put a stop to bribery at its checkpoints.
The Royal Malaysian Customs director-general Datuk Seri Abd Rahman Abd Hamid said the first one was the electronic Customs Verification Import system, used mostly on consignments.
He said officers based at the respective regional operation centres would be fully in charge.
"The centre would give orders if a consignment can be let go or not, based on the information and intelligence received,'' he said.
Unlike the manual checking, he said only suspicious vehicles would be stopped for further checks and the order must be given by the operation centre.
"The ground personnel would report their findings to the officers at the centre, who would decide on the next course of action,'' he said.
Abd Rahman said this would hamper any attempts at bribery, as there would no longer be any "negotiation" at the checkpoints.
He said Johor Customs, which began using the system on Sept 1, was a pioneer in the project.
He said the operation centre for southern region (Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor) was established at Menara Kastam here.
"We managed to track down the smugglers and made a collection of over RM1mil in that one month,'' he said.
He said the system has been extended to Port Klang, Selangor, as well as the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya on Oct 1.
Abd Rahman said the other tactic would be the "Rover" behavioural analysis system.
He said the technique enables customs to spot specific behavioural characteristics to pinpoint passengers for intensive search.
He said this would also be supported by the use of sophisticated and modern surveillance devices such as CCTVs in their operations. Abd Rahman said plainclothes personnel would also be deployed to monitor the travellers.
As such, he said the manpower could be reduced by 25%. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 January 2008 )
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