KUALA LUMPUR — Passengers flying out of Malaysia are to
have another burden as they will have to pay about RM35 (S$11.50)
once the government introduces the Advance Passenger Screening
System (APSS), reported the Sun.
Several systems are already being used by other
countries to check the status of passengers.
As such, a source questioned why the government has to
pay RM8 billion over 15 years to a private company to set up a new
system.
There is also the question of which party would collect
the fee, as airport tax goes to Malaysia Airports Berhad and a RM1
levy is channelled to the Malaysian Aviation Commission.
“The plan is to have the company develop the hardware
and software for APSS and passengers bear the cost,” the source
told the newspaper.
“This plan makes no real sense as there are
readily-available systems in the world, like the system being used
in Australia, which only costs about A$80 million (S$81.7
million).
The source said the screening system is aimed at
protecting the country from undesirable elements such as terrorists
and it is, therefore, a national security issue.
The costs for such systems linked to security is
usually borne by the government, but some may charge a nominal fee
of US$1 (S$1.35), the source added. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
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