Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the government has accepted the proposal to set up a sole body responsible for guarding the country’s gateways and wanted it to be set up as soon as possible.

Muhyiddin said at present, the task of managing the national borders is being handled by 28 bodies, associations and companies.

This contributes to congestion and delay in the management of border matters, he added,

“If possible, we want all matters relating to the setting up of the border agency to be finalised within the next two years.

“The matter has been discussed with the home ministry’s secretary-general and I will push to speed up its establishment,” he told Bernama.

Muhyiddin said the proposal to set up the agency will undergo a study, lasting six months to a year, by consultants to be appointed in March.

The study will look into the financial, human resources and logistics aspects as well as the relevant laws.

The ministry is willing to learn from the American experience in setting up an agency to oversee the safety of national gateways.