Datuk Seri Hazani Ghazali has been appointed as the director general of the Malaysia Checkpoints and Border Agency.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 31): The government has appointed Datuk Seri Hazani Ghazali as the director general of the Malaysia Checkpoints and Border Agency (MCBA) under the Home Ministry, said its minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

The newly formed single border agency was announced by the prime minister during Budget 2024.

Hazani is currently director of the Internal Security and Public Order Department under the Royal Malaysian Police.

He previously served as chief police commissioner in Sabah, and was the commander of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM), which served to strengthen maritime security in East Sabah following the Lahad Datu incursion in 2013.

“His task is to accelerate the formation of the bills towards the setting up of the MCBA. If everything goes smoothly with the cooperation of the attorney general, we expect to table the bill in the March sitting [of the Parliament] for approval,” Saifuddin said.

The single border agency will be provided an allocation of RM20 million for maintenance and repair works across Malaysia’s entry points, and for procurement of necessary assets, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said when tabling Budget 2024 last year.

There will be a pilot programme to implement the agency involving 10 of the country's 141 entry points, Saifuddin said in November.

Among the 10 entry points are the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminals 1 and 2, the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex in Rantau Panjang, and ICQ Johor as well as in Sabah, he was reported as saying.