Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said this would be made possible with the use of the new and upgraded X-ray machine scanners for passengers, which will be put in place by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB).

“So, there will be no touching. By the second half of next year, airport security officers will no longer have to conduct physical body searches on flight passengers,” he told reporters after the ground-breaking ceremony for klia2’s dedicated processing centre for departing airline crew at the airport here today.

Loke said many people were not comfortable having to undergo a body search at the airport, but such a procedure was part of the security protocols.

“Even as a minister, when I pass through any gate here (at the airport), I have to be body-searched as well. But there will be new machines and new facilities to upgrade the airport service,” he said.

Meanwhile, MAHB in a statement distributed during the ceremony said, as at August this year, KLIA had registered 40 million passengers for both terminals with klia2 registering 21.3 million passengers, which is a 7.8% increase from the same period last year.