1. From the first time I took the oath of office and since then, I have pressed on the importance of national security especially for Johoreans in my capacity as the State Representative for Kempas.
2. I've touched on a possible tie-up of a foreign company manning the security of a good part of Iskandar, drawing concerns about the tapping of classified details pertaining to the government and its officials.
3. I've raised concern on the special arrangement of bringing in foreign Chinese workers to the state. I've asked whether background checks were done on them and if secured bonds or guarantees were locked in from the supplying nation, which has imposed on us conditions for their companies to invest here. This was raised after reading about the possibility of Chinese investors shipping prison inmates as labourers for their projects abroad.
4. I've also touched on the increase in the crime rate involving foreigners, which was 2,291 cases in 2012 but shot up to a staggering 13,591 in 2014. And on the very day I made my speech about it in the State Assembly, there was a crime being committed that almost left the victim dead with a cracked head in Pasir Gudang involving a foreigner.
5. All these concerns, which should be high above in the list of priorities in our state and country, were either left unreported or unanswered.
6. Yesterday, The Star and Malay Mail reported of the "Silent Assassins" from Bangladesh being arrested in Singapore. They were allegedly to have "planned terror activities in other countries including their homeland."
7. With 1.5 million Bangladeshis in the works to be allowed in, not to mention the hundreds of thousands who are still here, I ask again, have we done and are we doing thorough screening on them?
8. I had the privilege of witnessing the special forces (police) in action manning the Senai airport on the first day of their operation upon arrival from the Capital a few days ago. And today, I saw four heavily armed personnel talking to each other and laughing instead of looking serious and being on a lookout for suspicious characters at the Subang Airport.
9. The uniform and intimidating hardware looked impressive but may only work on placed explosive operatives unwilling to die with it, (like the ones during the IRA insurgency in UK). It will not intimidate suicide bombers who are already willing to die with their thumbs on the detonator. There's not much one can do when it's strapped to the body and has arrived at its target location.
10. While the police intelligence have done an excellent job intercepting the operatives so far, the onus is on the federal government to ensure that the millions who will fly in to stay on for years on contract here are scrutinised before they are cleared to blend with Malaysians at large.
11. With the limited number of uniformed personnel on the ground nationwide, I'm certain this would ease their burden and reduce some risk of terrorism in this country. With a potential RM4.5 billion to be made and shared by the authorities and various parties, I'm sure the least the authorities could do is to ensure that Malaysians are safe with the influx of these 1.5 million strangers from Bangladesh.
12. National Security Is Paramount And We Should Leave No Stones Unturned. Prevention Is Better Than Regret Because With Terrorism, There Is No Cure.
