DAP vice-chairman Syahredzan Johan has criticised an MCA Youth leader for urging Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook to explain how a Malaysian pilot allegedly smuggled drugs out of the country, describing the remarks as an attempt to politicise a serious security issue.
In a Facebook post, Syahredzan said MCA Youth deputy chairman Mike Chong was unfairly trying to pin the blame on Loke, who is also the DAP secretary-general.
Syahredzan questions criticism of Loke
Syahredzan said the key issue was how the pilot managed to pass security screening rather than why the transport minister had not explained the incident.
“Why should Loke be urged to offer an explanation when a pilot is caught smuggling drugs? The bigger question is how the pilot passed our security screenings.
“We all know that this was a serious security breach, but Loke is not in charge of security. He doesn’t control the borders. But this MCA man is taking advantage of the issue to take a potshot at Loke.
“MCA shouldn’t take advantage of this serious issue. It makes him look really low-class and shallow,” said the Bangi MP.
Pilot arrested in Indonesia
Last week, a Malaysian pilot was arrested at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, for allegedly attempting to smuggle about 25kg of ecstasy pills and 2.7g of methamphetamine.
The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency later confirmed that the pilot had passed routine security screening procedures at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) before departing for Jakarta.
MCA Youth calls for ministry’s response
Earlier today, Sinar Harian quoted Mike Chong as urging Loke not to sidestep the issue, saying the Transport Ministry should address the effectiveness of existing monitoring and surveillance mechanisms for all flight crew.
He also questioned whether the current screening procedures were sufficient to prevent similar incidents.
