KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Immigration Department will be implementing an Advanced Passenger Screening System (APSS) to curb movement of criminals.
Its director-general, Datuk Alias Ahmad said the department would work with their counterpart, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) of Singapore, to study the system, which would be introduced next year.
He said the APSS, which is being carried out in its pilot stage in Singapore, would be able to immediately check the background of a passenger once they check in using their passport.
“If they are found to have a criminal record or blacklisted for such reasons, they will not be allowed passage to Malaysia,” he said.
Alias said the department is now in the development process whereby it will be tabled in three months time for the government to analyse.
“Once the government approves this system, we will need another four to six months’ time for its concept stage,” he said after chairing a bilateral meeting with the Singapore ICA discussing on issues relating to immigrant movements in these two nations.
Alias said collaboration with their Singapore counterpart was important in view of the active migrant movement in and out of these two countries via the Johor checkpoint.
Meanwhile, Alias said they were also considering an online visa registration as well as visa registration via biometric methods in future.
However he said it is still under discussion and plans have not been made to implement online and biometric registrations.