‘Shallow’: Syahredzan hits back at MCA leader over Loke criticism

Syahredzan has criticised an MCA leader for allegedly taking a cheap shot at Transport Minister Anthony Loke over the detention of a Malaysian flight crew member in Indonesia.

“Even a drug smuggler and Loke has to answer for it? Yes, we know why, out of all things, when MCA wants an explanation, it goes looking for Loke,” he said on Facebook, responding to a statement by MCA Youth deputy chairman Mike Chong Yew Chuan.

Chong had yesterday urged Loke not to brush aside regulatory weaknesses following the July 29 detention of the crew member in Indonesia on suspicion of attempting to smuggle drugs. Indonesian authorities are reported to believe the suspect is part of an international smuggling network.

According to the Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS), the suspect had gone through all the prescribed security screening processes before being allowed to board the flight to Indonesia on July 28.

Chong acknowledged that investigations were ongoing, but said the public had a right to know whether existing screening procedures, health checks and compliance measures were truly effective in detecting and preventing such situations.

Syahredzan, however, pointed out that Loke is not the one responsible for security and border control. “But these MCA people take the opportunity to ‘shoot’ Anthony Loke,” he said.

He added that police were investigating the case. “MCA should not exploit such a serious matter. It looks very ‘low class’.”

“This MCA man is shooting at the wrong target — it just shows how shallow he is,” he said.

On Aug 3, it was reported that transport ministry secretary-general Jana Santhiran Muniayan had met with AKPS, the police and Malaysia Aviation Group to review improvements to existing procedures.

Bukit Aman announced yesterday that police had identified an individual believed to be linked to the crew member's case.