MELAKA, Nov 1 — The Home Ministry will take stern action against security companies who hire temporary guards to merely fulfill their clients' contracts, said its Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.  

He said all security companies have to comply with the set regulations and make sure the guards attend the required four-day course and pass the Ministry's screening. 

“We require detailed screening of each candidate. I will prohibit the hiring of temporary guards from now on,” he told a press conference at Ayer Keroh here today.   

Earlier, he opened the 206th Prison Day, which was also attended by Home Ministry senior deputy secretary-general (Management) Datuk Daud Tahir and Prisons director-general Datuk Zulkifli Omar.  

New recruits must attend the mandatory Security Guard Course four-day training and be approved as a static security guard after a three-month probation by the Home Ministry, he stressed.    

Whereas, in order to become an armed security guard a candidate should have more than six months prior experience of being a static guard and have a clean record, he added.

The issue of how security guards were recruited became a topic of grave concern following the brutal shooting of a bank officer by the financial institution's own security guard in Petaling Jaya, Selangor on October 23 and yesterday's robbery of a gold smith shop in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur by the premises' own guard.  

Commenting on yesterday's incident, Wan Junaidi said: “I think the suspect had planned this crime all along and when the Ministry started scrutinising the backgrounds of all security guards nationwide, he became desperate. So he executed his crime as quickly as possible before being detected.” — Bernama