The issue of national security — Lim Sue Goan

AUG 26 — Home Ministry Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein received two bullets and a threatening letter on Wednesday. The outlaw who dared even to threaten the minister in charge of the national security agency was really audacious.

Hishammuddin did not disclose the content of the letter. However, since he has recently engaged in the crackdown on human trafficking, including detaining immigration officials under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and repatriating Uighurs involved in such activities, the threatening mail is most likely related to human trafficking syndicates.

The act of sending threatening letters attached with bullets to political leaders has gone rampant. A wise response would be to hire foreign experts to teach the knowledge and skills to uncover the person responsible while curbing such threatening tactics.

From another perspective, the incident shows that the national security issue has reached a worrying stage.

In the 1980s, the country was also hit by security problems. Due to an economic recession and unemployment, many unemployed foreign workers had turned into robbers and thieves, forcing the people to stage a street protest.

Today, the nature of law and order problems has changed. It was criminal cases like arson and murder in the past but now, the police is facing organised, knowledgeable and intelligent international crime syndicates with international network, huge capital and human resources.

International crime syndicates are usually engaged in major criminal activities, including establishing drug factories in Malaysia and using Malaysia as a transit point to traffic humans and drugs. These activities have not only harmed the country's reputation, but also kept the police busy.

In early 2010, Malaysia arrested 10 terrorists, nine of whom were foreigners. In July this year, the authorities arrested a suspected Tamil Tiger leader and a Jemaah Islamiyah member through fingerprint scanning.

International crime syndicates have chosen Malaysia because of its weak border security, less-than-stringent visa requirements, lackadaisical immigration personnel and foreign student enrolment policies, as well as inefficient enforcement. As a result, Malaysia has become the world's most popular overstay paradise and the country is now notorious for rampant human trafficking.

The home minister is also aware of the seriousness of the problem and thus, the Biometric Fingerprint Identification System is introduced to collect fingerprints of legal and illegal workers, and curb the infiltration of international crimes and terrorists.

However, the Biometric Fingerprint Identification System would still be scuppered by human negligence if security along the border and coastlines is not strengthened, foreign student admission policy is not tightened, and the enforcement of foreign labour policy is not reviewed and improved upon.

The incident of the threat to the Home Minister should really not be taken lightly as it is related to the issue of national security. — mysinchew.com