Nik Azman Nik Abdul Majid also said there were no sea surveillance systems, better known as Swasla, along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah.

“About 64.3% of Swasla’s remote sensor sites (RSS) were spoiled, while 44.4% of its components could not be replaced as they were no longer in the market,” he told reporters here at the launch of the third series of the National Audit Report.

Azman also said some RSS units belonging to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) had blind spots.

“Even though the agency knew these assets were not functioning properly they still carried out their operations based on the SOP. This left a negative impact on the nation’s economy and security.

“We are not trying to criticise the department’s weakness but it is meant as a wake-up call for the government to set aside additional allocation for the agency.”

The audit report also noted that 89 Chinese enforcement vessels had encroached into Sabah and Sarawak waters between 2016 and 2019.

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