SEPANG, April 15 — Several improvements will be made to raise the airport security level and police personnel efficiency, like using electric scooters, said Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan.
The use of electric scooters or self-control scooters was planned at the beginning of the year, and the state government agreed to buy the equipment for use by the Selangor police.
“We will get (scooters) in the near future, and when we have these scooters, the police’s response will be faster and could patrol a wider area in a short time.
“This is one of the methods that the police will deploy later,” he told the press after the handover of duties of the KLIA district police chief today.
Hussein said the police would propose the airport install scanners to tighten control, especially for members of the public who enter with prohibited items like firecrackers and firearms.
Better control is necessary for early detection, especially for individuals carrying prohibited items.
He added that the security level at the airport would be reviewed so that the recent shooting at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 could have been prevented earlier.
“If the people bring firecrackers into the airport, we cannot stop them as it is a public place. At the airport, there are airside and landside where the airside (area) is prohibited while the landside (area) is open.
“So maybe there should be stricter control there so that people do not bring prohibited items to endanger civilians at the airport,” Hussein said.
People can now enter the airport area without strict controls, unlike in other countries that have scanners.
Other recommendations include closing the corridors near the gate of the arrival and departure halls.
He said the vehicle parking lane close to the arrivals and departures gates also exposed the airport to high risk because individuals could park their cars and enter the airport easily.
“This was a proposal by the police a long time ago. We used to disallow the public from entering the area because of security factors.
“It threatens the airport area’s security because people can drive in and enter the airport without control,” Hussein said.
On the other hand, the outside lane would make it easier for police officers to patrol and more difficult to commit undesirable acts.
Earlier, a shooting incident occurred at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 early yesterday morning.
In the incident, the suspect initially threw firecrackers, injuring two civilians, before approaching the victim, who was also his wife.
The suspect fired two shots at the wife, who was waiting for the Umrah pilgrims to return at the KLIA Terminal 1 arrival hall, but one shot missed, and the other shot hit one of the suspect’s wife’s bodyguards.
The victim was injured in the abdomen and is currently being treated in a hospital.
— Bernama
