JOHOR BARU, Jan 20 — The Home Ministry is working on establishing a single border agency (SBA) to consolidate government agencies at the country’s entry and exit points, said Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The minister said discussions were in the final stages.
“As we know, the country’s border controls involve many government agencies.
“Towards establishing the SBA, all our related border control functions will be placed into a single agency without compromising security.
“We will also make use of technology as well as employing the best practices from other countries,
“With that, I believe we are in the right direction to implement the SBA for the country,” Saifuddin told reporters after chairing the Coordinating Committee Meeting on Tackling Congestion at the Johor Causeway at the Sultan Iskandar Building’s Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex here today.
He was commenting on the status of the SBA and its planned implementation.
Present were Deputy Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and senior government officers.
Saifuddin said the SBA was not a new approach as early discussions on its implementation started since early 2018.
He also pointed out that other countries such as Singapore, the United States, Canada and New Zealand have also implemented a single agency for their border controls.
“From there, Malaysia can adopt the best practices from these other countries,” he said, adding that the SBA aims to provide the best service possible for the people,” he said.
Currently, a multi-agency arrangement is involved in safe guarding of the country’s borders.
In September last year, the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs), the union representing government workers, said it was opposed to the establishment of the SBA to take over the roles and duties of government agencies for border controls.
It said the current multi-agency, multi-level border control system is better than the country’s borders being controlled by a single agency.
