PAC urges probe into missing biometric equipment
KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has urged the Home Ministry to determine what happened to the RM10.3 million worth of biometric equipment meant to verify and screen Malaysians and immigrants.
In its report in Parliament yesterday, PAC chairman Datuk Seri Hasan Arifin said the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMs) was supplied and paid for, but was not used at border checkpoints.
Thus, he urged the Home Ministry to account for all procured biometric equipment and ensure that they were “fully utilised”.
“If they (the ministry) failed to trace the equipment, we urge them to lodge a report, conduct a thorough investigation and take action against those responsible.
“PAC wants the Home Ministry to lodge a police report.”
According to the report, PAC found that instead of the MyIMMs, a different system — the National Enforcement and Registration Biometric System (NERS) — was adopted after it was approved by the ministry on Feb 8, 2011.
NERS, which is worth RM912 million, was put in place from June 1, 2011, and was procured under a 12-year concession agreement.
PAC suggested that the Immigration Department standardise the biometric system at detention depots as
MyIMMs and NERS used different technologies and were not compatible.
The report explained that MyIMMs uses Sagem technology while NERS uses Dermalog technology.
“Since both are incompatible, the department has to replace the biometric systems at its detention depots. Those readers with Sagem technology were transferred to passport divisions since they were already using the system.”
The report stated that the Immigration Department had located 131 units of the Sagem readers, but 69 units were unaccounted for as of Nov 22.
Last year, it was reported that PAC discovered that myIMMs worth RM10.3 million, which was paid for and supplied to the country’s entry point gates, was never used.
Following the revelation, said Hasan, PAC had called for proceedings involving Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Alwi Ibrahim and Immigration director-general Datuk Mustafar Ali to provide clarification on the matter in September.
In its suggestions, PAC called on the Home Ministry and Immigration Department to hold a transformation programme to address operations systems and the ministry’s management.
“Based on statements given by the ministry’s secretary-general, who informed us of a task force that it formed, PAC would like to review the report,” Hasan said.
In a response, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the ministry would follow “all the recommendations” made by PAC.