ISKANDAR PUTERI – The recent discovery of a “cartel” smuggling in frozen meat shows that there is an urgent need to increase Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) manpower at the country’s entry points.
Deputy director-general Azhari Sharidah Abu Bakar said the department has only 467 personnel at the peninsula’s 57 entrance gates.
The inspection of goods in Sabah and Sarawak falls under the purview of the relevant agencies, such as the Veterinary Services Department (VSD), Agriculture Department and Fisheries Department, he said.
“We are facing problems because there are not many officers to check the entry of goods at the gates.
“We applied for additional appointments for 100 new posts last year, but only 82 were approved. This still falls short,” he told the press in Gelang Patah here last night.
It was reported on December 2 that there was a syndicate smuggling in frozen meat from China, Ukraine, Brazil and Argentina, and repackaging the item with the halal logo at a warehouse in Senai, Johor Baru.
The Johor branch of the Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia has urged the government to investigate the matter, including the dubious halal status of the meat.
Azhari Sharidah said there are only 24 Maqis personnel assigned to manually inspect 400 containers a day at Port Klang.
“An increase in staff is important because our inspection is currently focused on imported frozen goods, such as meat and fish.
“This is due to the products being classified as high-risk items, especially meat. It can be imported only from facilities that have received approval from VSD and the Malaysian Islamic Development Department.”
He said Maqis issued about RM3 million in compounds for more than 700 offences up to last month.
“The most frequent offence involves imported goods that do not have a permit.” – Bernama, December 13, 2020
