The security forces guarding the country's waters will be operating more efficiently following the upgrading of the Malaysian Maritime Sea Surveillance System (Swasla) which is expected to be completed this year.

Marine Police Force (PPM) Commander SAC Mohd Yusoff Mamat said that the government has approved an allocation of more than RM100 million to upgrade the radar system.

He said the radar system, jointly used by PPM, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and the Royal Malaysian Navy, would be able to detect the movements of small vessels within a wider radius after the upgrade.

He said this is important because the existing radar system is not able to detect the presence of small boats carrying out smuggling activities or foreign fishing boats because it is more specifically used for tracking merchant ships.

"With this upgraded radar system, enforcement agencies, for example, can monitor the influx of migrants, especially Rohingya as well as prevent the smuggling of migrants, cigarettes, liquor and other illicit goods in the waters of Langkawi," he told reporters, here, today.

According to Mohd Yusoff, this is because the surface of the waters of Langkawi, for example, is hilly and has many 'blind spots' using the existing radar system.

"Meanwhile, in the waters of the east coast, this radar is needed to detect the movement of foreign fishing boats encroaching into the country's waters to catch sea resources," he said.

So far, Mohd Yusoff said, the radar system had been installed in several locations including Langkawi (Kedah), Lumut (Perak) and Tanjung Pengelih (Johor).

He said this to reporters after a Handover Ceremony of the Region Two PPM Commander's post, at the Tampoi Region Two PPM Headquarters, here today.

ACP Abdul Rahman Mohamad who would retire tomorrow would be replaced by ACP Muhd Zailani Abdullah.

Muhd Zailani, 52, joined the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) in 1989 and had held several positions including as the head of the Bukit Aman PPM Intelligence Operations Unit and the Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department (JPJKK) Staff Officer at the Johor Police Contingent Headquarters.



-- BERNAMA