No sabotage, cyberattack suspected in autogate glitch
PETALING JAYA : There are no signs of sabotage or cyberattack in the disruption of the automatic gate system for foreign visitors.
Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency director-general Shuhaily Zain said the incident was believed to have stemmed from a disruption in data integration between the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMs) and the security database of an international enforcement agency.
This slowed down the cross-checking process, he was quoted as saying by Bernama at a press conference at KLIA Terminal 1 today.
'So far, there is no indication of a cyberattack.
'Let us carry out a thorough investigation to determine the actual cause,' he said.
Shuhaily said all automatic gate systems for foreign visitors that were previously affected were now fully operational.
He apologised for the inconvenience caused by the disruption of the system and assured the public that steps would be taken to prevent a recurrence.
The autogate system disruption was reported to have occurred on Friday and persisted until yesterday evening.
Congestion and long queues were observed at several key entry points, including KLIA's Terminals 1 and 2, as well as the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) and Sultan Abu Bakar customs, immigration and quarantine complexes in Johor Bahru.
The agency implemented mitigation measures to ease the flow of visitors, which included activating all manual counters and deploying additional personnel at the checkpoints.
Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the incident risked tarnishing the image of the state and nation as the complex at BSI was one of the busiest in the region.
He called on federal authorities to prevent a recurrence of the system disruption.
The situation at BSI returned to normal at 10pm yesterday.
Singaporean Narziah Shakor, 55, said many travellers were left standing in long queues for three to four hours.
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