Minister: Suspect arrested in border agency commander shooting incident

PARLIAMENT | An arrest has been made in connection with shots fired at a vehicle driven by Bukit Kayu Hitam Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA) commander Nasaruddin Nasir early yesterday.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, however, did not reveal further details on the arrested suspect.

“We (police) have made an arrest in less than 24 hours.

“Now the suspect is being questioned,” he said during Minister’s Question Time in response to a supplementary question from Siti Zailah Ismail (PN-Rantau Panjang) in Dewan Rakyat today.

Kedah police chief Adzli Abu Shah said yesterday that the suspect who fired at a vehicle driven by Nasaruddin was believed to have used a semi-automatic firearm, based on shattered bullet fragments.

He said preliminary investigations confirmed that two shots were fired at the victim’s moving vehicle from about one metre.

"We believe the shooter used a semi-automatic weapon as we found shattered bullet fragments,” Adzli was quoted as saying.

According to reports, Adzli said the incident involved two suspects on a motorcycle, dressed in dark clothing and wearing full-face helmets, while the victim was driving alone.

Saifuddin noted today that the work is high-risk to ensure the country’s borders remain safe.

“If it involves border control, the nature of the work is indeed exposed to various threats.

“Its function is to ensure that the mobility of people and goods remains seamless, while at the same time, there is no compromise on security and no leakage in revenue collection,” he said.

The minister went on to reiterate the government’s commitment to strengthening security at Malaysia’s borders and ensuring the safety of the border security force.

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