The supplier of new X-ray cargo scanners for Customs inspections has claimed “there is no issue of low-performance scanners” in their procurement contract.
This follows an article by Malaysiakini yesterday about two internal reports from the Royal Malaysian Customs Department that said the performance of the new scanners was "unsatisfactory" after a month-long test run.
Based on downtime data in the reports, the machines could only scan about 53 percent of the time, much lower than the "95 percent operational availability" requirement in the tender document.
PTS Resources, which was awarded a contract to supply 13 scanners in Peninsular Malaysia said, the problems detected in a review were merely a “preliminary observation which has now been totally resolved”.
“The allegations of operational ability of 53 percent, high frequency of downtime, and alleged unsatisfactory review was a preliminary observation which has now been totally resolved by PTS.
“The allegations of problems with Container Code Recognition (CCR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and etc, are just issues that require fine-tuning and not problems per se.
“PTS is constantly fine-tuning the system in accordance with real-world situations and the requirements of the Customs Department,” said the company in an email reply to Malaysiakini.
The company also confirmed the scanners in use are from China-based CGN Begood Technology Co Ltd and claimed they have “full features that comply with the tender requirements”.
PTS Resources also confirmed they secured approval from the authorities and denied allegations that the scanners in use are non-compliant with the government’s requirements.
“The completed installation of new scanners has passed both the Site Acceptance Test (SAT) and Final Acceptance Test (FAT) conducted by multiple agencies, including the customs department, Atomic Energy Licensing Board of Malaysia (AELB), Nuclear Malaysia, subject matter expert from local university of University Technology of Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and third-party independent auditor.
“We would like to reiterate that there is no issue of low-performance scanners.
“The scanners passed SAT and FAT and any issues faced are again fine-tuning issues that have been resolved. All scanner machines are according to specifications of the tender.”
PTS Resources is registered as a supplier of industrial and electrical equipment, spare parts, as well as commissioning works.
According to the company website, it specialises in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries, with no experience in cargo inspection systems.
CGN Begood also announced on Nov 11 that two sets of their Customs inspection systems had passed the FAT test conducted by experts from Malaysia from Sept 20 to 24.
However, a source in the industry alleged the government did not go through the proper procedure before issuing a final approval to the manufacturer.
He pointed out that once the FAT is completed, it means the government agreed to accept the product, and the end-user would be responsible for its performance.
Malaysiakini is still awaiting a response from the Finance Ministry and Customs Department.
- Mkini
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