The Immigration Department's new entry point screening system is expected to be implemented by mid-June, following weaknesses in immigration screening systems highlighted by the MH370 crisis.
 
According to Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the new Advanced Passenger Screening (APS) system is one of several new security protocols to be put in place to beef up security measures.
 
“As mentioned by the Prime Minister (Najib Abdul Razak), we are revisiting our SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), especially the protocol of the security at entry points, particularly at KLIA,” he told reporters today, according to Star Online .
 
The APS, developed by Dutch firm I-SEC International Security BV, has been implemented since 1997.
 
According to I-SEC's website, the APS performs pre-screening of passengers based on "several sources of information", although the sources are never specified.
 
The system has been adopted by the US Transportation Security Administration and Federal Aviation Authority.
 
Weaknesses in the immigration department processes were uncovered after two Iranians made it on board Flight MH370 that were flagged as stolen by Interpol.
 
The incident was a major embarrassment for Putrajaya, which has suffered years of international criticism over lax immigration processes which has made Malaysia a major transit point for human trafficking, as pointed out by the US State Department.