System hacked by syndicate, says Ahmad Zahid

PUTRAJAYA: About 100 immigration officers and a foreigner are under probe in connection with the sabotage of the Malaysian Immigration System (myIMMS).
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pix) said today some civil servants, mostly from the Immigration Department, have been detained to facilitate investigations by the police and immigration's intelligence department.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also home minister, said however that high-level officers were not involved in the syndicate as the suspects were those who have been in service for less than six years.
The primary motive for the officers' involvement was financial gain.
"The system was hacked by the syndicate," he told a news conference after handing out the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's Scholarship to 10 recipients today.
He declined to elaborate on the syndicate's modus operandi or how much money was involved, but said myIMMS will be upgraded by HeiTech Padu Berhad, which will continue to be the system's operator.
Later at another event, Ahmad Zahid said no action was taken earlier despite the sabotage being identified on the immigration system because the ministry had no knowledge of the matter.
"We didn't know. We only got to know from news reports," he told reporters after chairing the 11th National Water Resource Meeting in Parliament.
Immigration director-general Datuk Sakib Kusmi said the syndicate's activities were believed to have been going on for six years and has reached a serious level warranting harsh action.
"The department has identified the individuals involved but investigations are still going on and the outcome will be announced when the time comes," he told Bernama.
Auditor-General (A-G) Tan Sri Ambrin Buang said the checks on myIMMS was a routine one conducted by the National Audit Department on all government IT systems.
Ambrin told theSun they had not caught the sabotage earlier as they only started investigating government IT systems from last year.
Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who was the former deputy home minister, said the Immigration Department had been known to have a "high corruption" rate for a long time.
During his tenure from 2013-2015, he said, there were many complaints about its inefficiency.
"They (immigration officers) are involved in expediting the entry of people, making special lines for them.
"All these have been reported to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and action has been taken," he told reporters after attending the 11th National Water Resources Meeting at Parliament today.