JOHOR BAHRU: The pilot project for the single border agency (SBA) to regulate the country’s 141 entry points is expected to start next year, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said the Home Ministry (KDN) has been appointed as the lead agency for the preliminary work initiative.
In this regard, he said a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali and KDN secretary-general Datuk Ruji Ubi was taking place in Putrajaya, today, to discuss matters related to the implementation of the SBA.
“Now we have two months to prepare everything in terms of structure, organisation, staffing and measures to speed up the pilot project.
“We have 141 gazetted entry points across the country and several entry points will first be chosen for the pilot project,“ he told reporters after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the en bloc purchase of the Aliff Sejahtera Apartment here today.
Saifuddin Nasution added that the KDN would also emulate the model of the establishment of teams such as the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
He said the establishment of the single agency should meet the three main objectives that have been set, which are to coordinate the functions of various regulatory agencies responsible at the border, improve the existing delivery system and to uphold integrity.
“The Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) of the Sultan Ismail Building (BSI) has approximately 20 agencies such as the Immigration Department, the Department of Agriculture, the Royal Malaysia Police, the Department of Road Transport and so on.
“Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) CIQ has approximately 14 agencies, so if we have a single border agency like our neighbouring country (Singapore) which has only one ICA, I think that is a right direction,“ he said.
Meanwhile, he said the apartment would be used as quarters for Johor Immigration Department staff. – Bernama
