Review SOP to accommodate modern terrorist threats - Zahid

The standard operating procedures (SOP) pertaining to security management of the country's strategic assets would be reviewed in light of the ever changing terrorist threats.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the definition of strategic assets, which before this only focused on key government assets, needed to be refined as many of them have since been privatised, including electrical power stations and television stations.

He said the SOP for security management on strategic assets was made 40 years ago and only focused on government assets feared to be targets of communist threats back then.

Speaking after officiating the national-level National Key Targets Seminar 2016 at Sasana Kijang here today, he said terrorist threats today are not the same as how it was four decades ago.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, cited the recent attacks in Jakarta and Brussels as examples which proved that terrorists are shifting their targets from government assets to more generic areas such as shopping malls and public transport hubs.

Having said that, the government also needed to adapt its approach in their preparation to tackle these modern threats, he said.

"We need to be prepared before anything happens. We shouldn't take action only after an incident occurs," he said.

Ahmad Zahid said the responsibility in securing strategic assets lies within both the security forces as well as the corporation which owns those assets. The two parties need to cooperate for this purpose.

He also said screening methods of workers and visitors at these targets also needed to be reviewed to ensure that safety is assured.

The role of security guards and safety equipment such as closed-circuit television cameras were also crucial to ensure an area's safety, he said.

He added that security threats does not just refer to physical attacks but in cyberspace as well, especially those pertaining to information leaks.