GOVT TO SUPPORT AKPS SECURITY NEEDS, SAYS HOME MINISTER 

PORT KLANG, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- The government is prepared to support the needs of the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS), including the provision of weapons and safety equipment, to ensure the agency can carry out its duties more effectively.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that as a newly established agency, AKPS has the flexibility to structure its operations in line with current needs to strengthen security controls at the country’s 122 entry points.

“If it is to enhance the safety of all AKPS personnel, and if there is a need, for example, to use firearms and the like, I leave it entirely to the leadership of AKPS, namely its director-general Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain, to make the necessary arrangements.

“Our role at the ministry, myself and the secretary-general, is to provide support so that the agency can carry out its responsibilities effectively, while at the same time ensuring the safety of its personnel,” he said when met after launching ‘Op Khas Pagar Laut 2026’ by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

The launch of the special operation was held aboard the maritime vessel Tun Fatimah at the National Hydrography Centre, Lebuh Sungai Chandong, Bandar Armada Putra, here today.

‎‎Mohd Shuhaily was reported as saying that the agency is assessing the need to equip its officers with firearms and bulletproof vests to ensure their safety while on duty.

Yesterday, a Proton X70 driven by AKPS Bukit Kayu Hitam commander Mohd Nasaruddin Mohd Nasir was reported to have come under gunfire at about 5.40 am at an access road near Muhajirin Mosque, Bukit Kayu Hitam, about one kilometre from the Malaysia-Thailand border.

Mohd Nasaruddin, who was on his way to perform Subuh prayers, escaped unhurt.

‎-- BERNAMA

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