Firearms card mandatory by June 1

PUTRAJAYA: All firearm licensees and permit holders are required to apply for an arms card from June 1, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said the card to be issued by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) was an improvement to the existing arms book in identifying firearm licence and permit owners.

He said the card contained several security features such as signature of the IGP, photograph of the owner, MyKad number of the owner, category of the licence or permit and information on the firearm.

“It is not only for individual owners, but also security companies. It must be renewed yearly,” he told a media conference after his ministry’s monthly gathering here yesterday.

He said the card application as stipulated under the Weapons Licensing Regulations (Amendment) 2016 and Weapons Regulations (Amendment of Second Schedule) could be done at any district police headquarters nationwide.

On whether the arms card was introduced because of the case of missing firearms belonging to the Department of Volunteer Corps ( Rela), he said the requirement was planned two years ago to replace the existing manual system which did not have any security features.

Meanwhile, Deputy InspectorGeneral of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim who also attended the media conference said the 26 missing shotguns belonging to Rela in Selama, Perak had already been recovered.

He said there had not been any new arrests to add to the present 14 suspects including a Rela officer.

The shotguns were reported stolen from Rela Northern Region Training Centre in Sungai Petani, Kedah, last month.

The disappearance was detected after the Firearms Licence Enforcement Unit, InspectorGeneral of Police Secretariat (Firearms Licence), Bukit Aman, conducted an inspection and audit. — Bernama