international affairs bulletin issue 3/2015

http://www.customs.gov.my

DECEMBER 2015

ISSUE 3 / 2015

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

BULLETIN

IN FOCUS

The 13th Heads of WCO Asia/

Pacific Regional Training Centers (RTCs) Meeting

VISITS/ COURTESY

CALLS

Visit by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA)

Delegation to the RMCD

OUR STAFF

Another RMCD Officer

Successfully Completed Her PhD Program

SPEECHES

WCO Asia/Pacific 25th Regional

Contact Points (RCP) Meeting

ASEAN

The 23rd ASEAN

Coordinating Committee on

Customs (CCC) Meeting

CAPACITY BUILDING

RILO A/P Expert Mission Training

to Malaysia

EDITOR’S NOTE 3

IN FOCUS

WCO Asia/Pacific 25th Regional Contact Points (RCP) Meeting 4

The 13th Heads of WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Training Centers (RTCs) Meeting in AKMAL, Melaka 6

The 11th ASEM Customs Directors General / Commissioners Meeting 8

74th Session of Policy Commission 10

2015 Heads of Customs Forum Organised By General Administration of China Customs in Xi’an, China 11

2015 WCO IT Conference& Exhibition 12

VISITS/ COURTESY CALLS

Study Tour Visit by Tajikistan Delegates to Malaysia 14

Visit by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) Delegation to the RMCD 16

Meeting with the United States Department of Energy / National Nuclear 18

Security Administration (US-DOE/NNSA)

Visit by the Kyrgyz Republic 20

Joint Coordinating Committee Meeting on Rules of Origin with 22

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Visit by the Australian Border Force 23

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Delegation visit to RMCD Port Klang 24

OUR STAFF

Another RMCD Officer Successfully Completed Her PhD Program 25

SPEECHES

WCO 25th WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Contact Points (RCP) Meeting 26

ASEAN/APEC

The 23rd ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Customs (CCC) Meeting 28

The 18th Meeting of the ASEAN Customs Enforcement & Compliance Working Group (CECWG) 30

ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS) in the Pipeline 31

CAPACITY BUILDING

RILO A/P Expert Mission Training to Malaysia 34

Train-The-Trainer Workshop for Joint Enforcement Action against Counterfeiting and Piracy 35

in the Asia/Pacific Region (Action IPR A/P)

CONTENTS PAGE

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS BULLETIN


EDITOR’S NOTE

Editorial Team

Executive Advisory

Group

Dato’ Sri Khazali Haji

Ahmad

Dato’ Abdul Rahman

Othman

Editorial Director

Nor Haziah Abd. Wahab

Editor-in-Chief

Sazali Mohamad

Editorial Publishing

Team

Aminuddin Hamzah

Ku Azizah Ku Daud

Ahmad Syukri Idris

Rasha Afzal Shafii

Mohd Badrulnizam

Mohd Nasir

Zureen Sofia Zakaria

Dear colleagues, It gives me great pleasure to bring you the third edition of the

International Affairs Bulletin.

This third edition highlights news and articles on the activities

of the International Affairs Section which had taken place in

July – December 2015. In November 2015, Malaysia as the

WCO Asia/Pacific Vice-Chair hosted a very important regional

event namely the 25th WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Contact

Points meeting. The meeting discussed some important

regional issues such as “Private Sector Engagement at the

Regional Heads of Customs Administration Conference”,

“Review of the Terms of Reference for the Regional Contact

Points”, “Nomination procedures for the Asia/Pacific Vice-

Chair’ and “Development of the Regional Strategic Plan for

2016 – 2018”. The meeting also endorsed Fiji’s nomination as the WCO Asia-Pacific Vice-Chair for

2016 – 2018.

Dato’ Sri Khazali bin Hj. Ahmad, in his capacity as the WCO Asia/Pacific Vice-Chair attended several

international meetings and seminar such as the 11th Asia-Europe Director Generals/Commissioners

meeting in Goa, India from 8 – 11 October, 2015, the Seminar on Trade Facilitation for Customs

Directors General/Commissioners from the ASEAN in Seoul, Korea from 26 – 29 October, 2015 and

the 74th Sessioin of the WCO Policy Commission in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic from 7 – 9

December, 2015. During the WCO Policy Commission, Dato’ Sri Khazali moderated one of the

breakout sessions which discussed the issue of “Customs Contribution to Security”.

AKMAL as a WCO Regional Training Centre (RTC) hosted the 13th Heads of WCO Asia/Pacific

Regional Training Centres (RTCs) meeting from 3 – 4 November, 2015. The meeting was chaired

by Mdm, Azimah bt. Abd.Hamid, the Director of AKMAL and discussed the issues related to the

implementation of WCO Capacity Building Programmes in the Asia/Pacific region.

At the ASEAN level, Dato’ Hassan bin Ibrahim, Assistant Director General (Enforcement) chaired the

18th Customs Enforcement and Compliance Working Group (CECWG) meeting which was held in

Yangoon, Myanmar from 20 – 22 October, 2015. He then reported the outcomes of the 18th

CECWG to the 23rd ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Customs (CC) meeting which was held in

Bandar Sri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam from 24 – 26th November, 2015.

2015 has been a very busy year for the International Affairs Section and I must say that we would not

be able to make it without the guidance and able leadership of the former Director of the Corporate

Planning Divison, Dato’ Ab. Hamid bin Salleh. On behalf of all the International Affairs Section staff, I

wish to take this opportunity to thank Dato’ Ab. Hamid bin Salleh who had retired in October, 2015 for

his commitment, dedication and hard works especially in guiding the WCO Asia/Pacific Vice-Chair

Secretariat since we assumed the Vice-Chair post in July 2014.

Last but not least, I wish to thank and congratulate the International Affairs team for their excellent

work in 2015. I believe there will be more challenges ahead in 2016 but with the synergy and

incredible team spirit that they have I am sure they will do even better in 2016.

As always, I hope all of you will enjoy reading this bulletin and I certainly welcome any constructive

comments and feedback.

Happy New Year 2016.

With warm regards.

NOR HAZIAH ABD. WAHAB

Editorial Director


IN FOCUS WCO Asia/Pacific 25th Regional Contact Points (RCP) Meeting

O n the 17th – 19th November 2015, the

Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD),

as the current Vice Chair for Asia/Pacific hosted

the 25th Regional Contact Point Meeting in Kuala

Lumpur, Malaysia. The meeting was attended by

47 delegates from 22 Asia/Pacific Members

namely, Australia; Bangladesh; Bhutan; Brunei

Darussalam; Cambodia; China; Fiji; Hong Kong,

China; Indonesia; India; Islamic Republic of Iran;

Japan; Korea; Malaysia; New Zealand; Papua

New Guinea; Samoa; Singapore; Sri Lanka;

Thailand; Timor-Leste and Viet Nam. The

representatives from the WCO, the WCO

Regional Intelligence Liaison Office A/P (RILO

AP) and the WCO Regional Office for Capacity

Building A/P (ROCB A/P) were also in attendance

as observers.


IN FOCUS WCO Asia/Pacific 25th Regional Contact Points (RCP) Meeting

The meeting was officiated by the Director General of Royal Malaysian Customs, Dato’ Sri Khazali Haji Ahmad. In his

keynote speech, he expressed his appreciation for the consistent strong support and cooperation given by Members of the

A/P Region to Malaysia as the Vice-Chair.

The Meeting was chaired by Ms. Nor Haziah Abd. Wahab, Acting Director of Customs, Corporate Planning Division, Royal

Malaysian Customs and discussed a wide range of issues including “Regional Strategic Plan (RSP) 2014-2016”;

“Development of Regional Strategic Plan 2016-2018”; “Nomination Process of the Next A/P Vice-Chair”; and further

deliberated the “Proposal to Review the Terms of Reference for the RCP for the Asia/Pacific Region”. The Meeting also

took note of the reports from the WCO, WCO Asia/Pacific Vice-Chair Secretariat, ROCB A/P and RILO A/P.

In his closing remark, the Chairperson thanked the delegates for their active participation and contribution.

IN FOCUS The 13th Heads of WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Training Centers (RTCs) Meeting in AKMAL, Melaka


The 13th Meeting of Heads of WCO Asia/Pacific RTCs was

held in Royal Malaysian Customs Academy (AKMAL) Melaka

on 3rd to 4th November, 2015. Delegates from all seven

RTCs in Asia/Pacific region attended the meeting.

Representatives from WCO Secretariat, Regional Office for

Capacity Building Asia/Pacific (ROCB A/P) and WCO A/P

Vice-Chair Secretariat were also in attendance.

The Honourable Dato’ Sri Khazali Ahmad, the Director General

of Customs, Malaysia and the Vice-Chair for WCO A/P

officiated the opening ceremony. In his opening remark, he

expressed appreciation to the ROCB A/P and all RTCs for their

contribution to the enhancement of capacity building in A/P

region. He reaffirmed supports to ROCB A/P and RTCs in the

delivery and implementation of capacity building programs in

the region.

IN FOCUS The 13th Heads of WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Training Centers (RTCs) Meeting in AKMAL, Melaka


The 13th Meeting of Heads of

RTCs was chaired by Mdm.

Azimah Abd Hamid, Director of

AKMAL. The RTCs shared their

experience in capacity building

strategies and their institutions

activities. Amongst highlights of the

meeting were the way forward for

the WCO Training Evaluation

Package and the ROCB A/P follow

-up survey exercise. The meeting

generally agreed with the on-going

exercises with some adjustments.

The meeting also discussed the

initiatives proposed by the ROCB

A/P to enhance the concept of

‘Centre of Excellence’ and the

WCO Customs Professionalism

Framework. Hong Kong Customs

offered to host the next Heads of

RTCs Meeting in 2016.

Delegates expressed appreciation

to RMCD and AKMAL for the

hospitality accorded to them and

the excellent meeting

arrangement.

as easier and faster access to further Customs

simplifications and facilitation.

As regards to Coordinated Border Management (CBM),

Action Coordinators, Korea and the Netherlands

highlighted the need to focus on the use of Single

Window as a tool to strengthen CBM and presented the

results of the survey conducted by them which helped to

understand the status of National Single Windows and to

identify the challenges for development of a global Single

Window.

Germany and India, Action Coordinators for IT tools used

for IPR enforcement presented the results of the survey

conducted by them. They reported that the overall

objective 'combating infringement on IPR' required legal

framework as well as operational capability to deal with it.

Presentation on product safety was made by the Action

Coordinators, Czech Republic and Cambodia. The action

explores the role of Customs in the area of product safety

controls and compliance alone or in association with

market surveillance authorities.

Action Coordinators, China and Denmark informed the

meeting about the work done in relation to trans-

boundary waste shipments. The report underlined that

Customs plays a key role in controlling trans-boundary

shipments of waste. The main finding was that the

Harmonized System needs a review to better distinguish

new, used, second-hand, waste and scrap, taking into

account the various waste categorization systems.

T he 11th ASEM Customs Directors General/

Commissioners meeting held in Goa, India on 8-9

October 2015 was attended by the Heads of Customs

Administrations and senior Customs Officials from

41 ASEM Members, including the European Union. The

Secretary General of the World Customs Organization,

Mr. Kunio Mikuriya was also present as an observer.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Najib Shah, Chairman

of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC),

India. The Malaysian delegation was representated by

Dato’ Sri Khazali Hj. Ahmad, Director General of RMCD

and Mr. Sazali Mohamad, Head of the WCO Asia/

Pacific Vice-Chair Secretariat

During the meeting reports on ASEM Customs Actions

2014 – 2015 were presented by the Action

Coordinators. Korea and EU-TAXUD, the Action

Coordinators for Trade Facilitation and Supply Chain

presented the results of the survey conducted to check

the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Action Plan

(TFAP). The results showed a comprehensive analysis

of the implementation rate of the listed trade facilitation

deliverables in the ASEM Member States.

Action Coordinators for Authorized Economic Operators

(AEO), Japan and Poland presented the results of the

survey on AEO implementation. The results showed

that ASEM Member States were developing and

improving their AEO programmes. The benefits of the

AEO programme were identified as fewer physical

documentary controls, speedy cargo clearance as well


IN FOCUS The 11th ASEM Customs Directors General / Commissioners Meeting

Singapore and Sweden, Action Coordinators for involving

business had developed a workshop package for the

action. Switzerland and Malaysia had volunteered to test

the workshop package. Switzerland conducted a workshop

with the catering industry on solving a problem which arose

from a change in legislation. Malaysia organized the

Customs – Private Sector Consultative Panel at both state

and headquarters level. It was found that the package was

useful for organising a dialogue with trade.

As for ASEM Customs Actions Plan for 2016 – 2017,

several members proposed new Actions such as

“Passenger Name Record” (PNR), “Sharing Experience in

Implementation of Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)” and

“Enabling Paperless Cargo Clearance Processes and

Cross-border Sharing of Trade Data”. After further

discussion, the meeting agreed to have the following

Actions for the Action Plan 2016-2017:

i. Trade Facilitation Action Plan – coordinators EU and

Korea;

ii. Authorized Economic Operators – coordinators Japan

and Slovakia;

iii. Coordinated Border Management – coordinators Korea

and the Netherlands;

iv. Product Safety - coordinators Cambodia and Czech

Republic;


IN FOCUS The 11th ASEM Customs Directors General / Commissioners Meeting

v. Joint Customs Operation Replica – coordinators

EU (OLAF);

vi. Passenger Name Records (PNR) - coordinators

Japan, Indonesia and Switzerland;

vii. Trade Facilitation Agreement – coordinators China

and Spain;

viii.Enabling Paperless Cargo Clearance Processes

and Cross-border Sharing of Trade Data -

coordinators India and Benelux;

ix. Combating Counterfeiting and Customs IPR

enforcement:

a) Update the 2011 Best Practice Guide on IPR

enforcement - coordinators Australia and

Switzerland

b) Conduct a Study on the use of Statistics in

IPR enforcement –coordinators France and

Russia; and

x. Enhancing Visibility of ASEM activities -

coordinators Austria, EU and Thailand.

The meeting concluded with the adoption of the

Chairman’s Summary of the 11th ASEM Customs

Directors General/Commissioners meeting and the

2016-2017 Action Plan in the form of the “Goa

Declaration”.

T he 74th Session of the WCO Policy Commission was

held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, from 7 to 9

December 2015. Mr. Zouhair Chorfi from Morocco chaired

the session which was represented by delegations from 34

member countries including observers from Belgium, the

Dominican Republic (host) as well as the Chairpersons of

WCO Finance and Audit Committee. The Malaysian

delegation was led by Dato’ Sri Khazali Haji Ahmad,

Director General of Customs / WCO Asia/Pacific Vice-

Chair and was accompanied by Mr. Sazali Mohamad and

Mr. Ahmad Syukri Idris from the International Affairs

Section.

The session was officially opened by the Minister of

Finance of the Dominican Republic, Simón Lizardo. It was

followed by the signing of a Mutual Recognition Agreement

(MRA) on Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) between

the Dominican Republic and the United States of America.

The Secretary General of the WCO took the opportunity to

highlight the progress of each of the four packages which

made up the WCO Strategic Plan. He also launched the

WCO Information and Intelligence Centre or I2C, whose

role would be to facilitate communication and coordination

on Customs compliance and law enforcement-related

matters.

During the 3-day session, members of the Policy

Commission deliberated agenda items namely Trade

Facilitation, Coordinated Border Management: Customs-

Police Cooperation, Customs Contribution to Security, E-

commerce, Exchange of Information on Customs Matters,

Performance Measurement, Customs – Tax Cooperation,

Customs Brokers, Publications Policy and Digital Customs.


IN FOCUS 74th Session of Policy Commission

Dato’ Sri Khazali also had the honour of moderating one of the

breakout sessions group under the topic of “Customs

Contribution to Security” to discuss specific questions raised

out by the WCO Secretariat.

The Policy Commission approved the text of a Communication

from the international Customs community to the 10th World

Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference regarding

the implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement

(TFA), and asked the WCO Secretary General to share the

Communication with the WTO Director-General and

disseminate it widely. As regards “Customs Contribution to

Security”, members urged the WCO Secretariat to further

develop the WCO Security Programme which includes the

new Border Security Initiative and review all WCO tools and

programmes to ensure that the security perspective was

adequately reflected. The session also approved the

Resolution of the WCO Policy Commission on the role of

Customs in the security context.

At the end of the meeting, members agreed to set up a

Working Group to deliberate on a set of proposals covering

the other governance issues raised during the discussion, for

presentation to the Council Sessions in July 2016. The

meeting also expressed its appreciation and best wishes to

the WCO Directors and certain Heads of Delegation who were

attending their final Policy Commission session, as well as the

Head of Customs of the Dominican Republic and his staff for

their warm hospitality and for the excellent organization of the

meeting.

G eneral Administration of China Customs (GACC)

organised and hosted the “Connectivity and Win-Win

Development Forum for Heads of Customs along the Belt

and Road” in Xi’an, Sha’anxi Province, China on 27 and 28

May 2015. The event was attended by more than 60

countries, international organisations, regional institutions

and business representatives. It started with welcoming

address by Mr. YU Guangzhou, the Minister of China

Customs, and followed by keynote speech by Mr. Kunio

Mikuriya, the Secretary General of World Customs

Organisation (WCO), and speeches by few other dignitaries.


IN FOCUS 2015 Heads of Customs Forum Organised By General Administration of China Customs in Xi’an, China

The objectives of this initiative were to promote the

connectivity of Asian, European and African continents and

also their adjacent seas, as well as to establish and strengthen

partnerships among the countries along the Belt and Road.

Three forums ran concurrently and Dato’ Sri Khazali Ahmad,

the Director General of Royal Malaysian Customs Department,

moderated the Sub-Forum I with theme “Connectivity- New

Opportunity for Regional Development”. Amongst the speakers

for Sub-Forum I were Mr. Giorgi Tabuashvili, the Deputy

Minister of Georgian Revenue Service; Mr. Yergozhin Daulet,

the President of Kazakhstan Customs; Mr. Clement Cheung,

the Commissioner of Hong Kong Customs; Ms. Natasha

Radeska Krstevska, the Director General of Customs

Administration of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia;

and Mr. Osman Nuri Beyhan, the Deputy Director General for

EU & External Relations of Turkish Customs. Sub-Forum II on

“Connectivity - New Orientations of Customs Reforms” were

participated by representatives from French Customs;

Hungarian Customs, Korean Customs Services; Malaysian

Customs; Mongolian Customs; Russian Customs and OECD.

Prior to the closing of the event on the second day, all

moderators presented their summary of the Sub-Forum and

recommendations. The event ended with closing address by

Mr. SUN Yibiao, the Vice-Minister of China Customs.

Dato’ Sri Khazali Ahmad presenting the Summary of Sub Forum I to the Heads of Customs and other Participants

Malaysian Delegate led by Dato’ Sri Khazali Ahmad, the Director General of Malaysian Customs (Middle); Mr. Abd. Gani Othman, Director of Malaysian Customs (Right); and Mr. Yahya Sulaiman,

Malaysian Customs Attaché (Left)

The 2015 WCO IT Conference& Exhibition took place in

Bahamas from 6 to 8 May 2015 at the Grand Lucayan Resort.

The event focused primarily on strengthening links between key

stakeholders in the trade process, this being an integral

component of the WCO’s 2015 mandate.

The Conference and Exhibition examined both modern IT-related

developments as well as the issues which impact the movement

of goods and services on the global and regional scale.


IN FOCUS 2015 WCO IT Conference& Exhibition

Dato’ Sri Khazali Ahmad, the WCO Asia/Pacific Vice-Chair

and Director General of Royal Malaysian Customs

Department delivered the key note address on the subject

“Efficient Transit Solutions for Reduced Costs of Trading”.

This address preceded panel discussions which examined

various solutions for reduced costs of trading such as

adoption of international standards, adoption of risk

management, National Single Window (NSW), Coordinated

Border Management (CBM), Private Sector Collaboration

and Legislative Reviews.

Inclusiveness Through Information Technologies - IT for an Inclusive Approach in Connecting Customs and Other Stakeholders in Inter- and

Intra-Regional Trade –

Ms. Nor Haziah Abd. Wahab, Deputy Director of Customs,

International Affairs Section of Royal Malaysian Customs

delivered a presentation on “Information Technology Support

for TFA Implementation”. Her presentation covered the

following topics:


IN FOCUS 2015 WCO IT Conference & Exhibition

i. Overview of Malaysia and WTO;

ii. Overview of WTO Agreement On Trade Facilitation;.

iii. Overview of ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN

Trade Facilitation Measures;

iv. ASEAN Cargo Transit System (ACTS)

During the Conference delegates took the opportunity to

network with global suppliers as they showcased IT solutions

and technologies for use in the trade process.

VISITS/ COURTESY CALLS Study Tour Visit by Tajikistan Delegates to Malaysia


O n 1st December 2015, RMCD Putrajaya received a delegation from

Tajikistan who were in Malaysia for a study tour. The 11 delegates were led

by Mr. Mirzoev Sukhrob Begmatovich, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of

Transport in Tajikistan.

The purpose of the study tour among

others was to learn best practices and

challenges faced on the functioning of the

Malaysian Trade Facilitation Committee

and other bodies working on trade

facilitation issues

which relates to the

private sector, other

key trade and

customs actors in

the public sector,

the challenges

faced in setting up

the trade facilitation

committee and on-

going challenges

related to

organization,

VISITS/ COURTESY CALLS Study Tour Visit by Tajikistan Delegates to Malaysia


sharing of information, implementation by Malaysia of the

obligations contained in the Trade Facilitation Agreement

and other key trade facilitation issues in Malaysia.

Following the study tour to RMC Headquarters Putrajaya,

on 3rd December 2015 the delegates went for a site visit

to the Customs & Immigration Quarantine Complex in

Johor Bahru (CIQ). The purpose of their site visit was to

experience in practice how goods cross the border, customs

clearance, challenges faced by transport operators and to

understand from a practical perspective the benefits of trade

facilitation and the requirements, standards, and tools

necessary for successful implementation. During the visit,

the delegates were given briefing by RMCD, Ministry of

Health and MAQIS. At the end of the program, they were

brought for a short tour to Customs Border Management and

Import Division at the CIQ.

R oyal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD)

received a study visit by a delegation from the Zimbabwe

Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) from 29th to 31st July 2015. The

delegation consisted of four officers led by Mr. Gershem T

Pasi, Commissioner General of ZIMRA, Mrs. Anna

Mutombodzi, Commissioner: Customs & Excise, Mr. Charlton

Chihuri, Director: Loss Control and Director: Infrastructure &

ICT Development. The purpose of the visit was to learn from

Malaysia’s experience as a successful story in administering

the country’s taxation and customs Acts.

The visit began with a courtesy call on the Director General of

RMCD, Dato’ Sri Khazali Haji Ahmad on 29th July 2015. He


Visit by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) Delegation to the RMCD


welcomed the delegation and hoped for further cooperation in

order to broaden the existing relationship between both

countries. Also present during the courtesy call were Dato’ Haji

Matrang bin Suhaili, Deputy Director General of Customs

(Enforcement and Compliance), Dato’ Abdul Rahman Othman,

Deputy Director General of Customs (Management), Dato`

Subromaniam A/L Tholasy, Deputy Director General of

Customs (Customs and GST), Dato’ Haji Hassan bin Ibrahim,

Assistant Director General of Customs (Enforcement), Dato’

Ab. Hamid bin Salleh, Director of Corporate Planning Division,

Dato’ Mariapa a/l Ramayah, Director of Intelligence, and Mr.

Sazali bin Mohamad, Senior Assistant Director of Customs I,

International Affairs Section.


Visit by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) Delegation to the RMCD


On the second day, a meeting was held and

chaired by Dato’ Ab. Hamid Salleh, Director of

Corporate Planning Division, RMCD. He

thanked ZIMRA for choosing Malaysia to

explore the areas for mutual benefit such as

technological application in revenue

administration, National Single Windows, risk

management and compliance strategies.

During the meeting, officers from International

Affairs Section presented an overview of

RMCD and its role as WCO Asia/Pacific Vice-

Chair for 2014 to 2016. Officers from

Enforcement Division delivered a

comprehensive presentation on Overview of

Enforcement Division and Malaysia’s risk

management implementation.

After the meeting, the delegation departed for

the Narcotics Section Office located in Jijan,

Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. The delegation had the

opportunity to learn about functions and roles

of Narcotic Section, effective use of Canine

Units, latest trends on narcotics and anti-drugs

smuggling initiatives conducted by RMCD.

Beside that the delegation was taken to the

drug detection dog facilities located at the

office and was introduced to drug detector

tools used by RMCD.

T he delegation from The United States

Department of Energy / National Nuclear Security

Administration (US-DOE/NNSA) paid their official

visit to the Royal Malaysian Customs Department

(RMCD) Headquarters on 2 October 2015.

VISITS/ COURTESY CALLS Meeting with the United States Department of Energy / National Nuclear Security Administration (US-DOE/NNSA)


The delegation was headed by Mr. Clayton Hayes

from the Embassy of The United States in Malaysia,

and he was accompanied by Mr. Obie Gillispie from

Los Alamos Laboratory, Ms Susan Leach and Mr.

Michael Butterworth from SES-Tech US.

The representatives from the National

Security Council, Atomic Energy Licensing

Board and The Ministry of Transport were

also present at the meeting.

The objective of the meeting was to discuss

on the proposal by the US-DOE / NNSA to

install radiation detection system or Radiation

Portal Monitor (RPM) at the Penang Port

under the Nuclear Smuggling Detection and

Deterrence program or formally known as the

Megaport Initiatives. It will be the third project

VISITS/ COURTESY CALLS Meeting with the United States Department of Energy / National Nuclear Security Administration (US-DOE/NNSA)


under the US-DOE/NNSA and RMCD

initiatives, since the first and second

Megaport Initiatives program were introduced

at Port Klang and Port of Tanjung Pelepas

(PTP) in 2009 and 2011. This cooperation

between US-DOE/NNSA and RMCD would

be a step forward towards strengthening the

national nuclear detection architecture and

protecting the national border against the

illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive

materials.


Visit by the Kyrgyz Republic


T he Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD)

received a delegation of eighteen officers from the Kyrgyz

Republic for a study tour from 14 – 16, December 2015.

The delegation which was headed by Mr. Kudabaev

Tynchtykbek, Director General of the Single Window State

Enterprise of the Kyrgyz Republic comprised

representatives from various agencies which are involved

in the development and utilization of national Single

Window in the Kyrgyz Republic namely Single Window

State Enterprise of the Kyrgyz Republic, Department of

Pharmacological Control and Medical Equipment, Chamber

of Commerce and Industry, Certification Agency,

National Alliance of Business Associations, Association

of Suppliers (Manufacturers and Distributors), Ministry

of Economy and Ministry of Finance.

The objective of the study tour was to learn about

Malaysia’s National Single Window. During the three

day study tour the delegation visited RMCD

Headquarters in Putrajaya and the Cargo Unit at the

Kuala Lumpur International Airport.


Visit by the Kyrgyz Republic


During the visit to Putrajaya, the delegation was

given briefings on Malaysia’s National Single

Window, ASEAN Single Window, Customs

Information System and uCustoms. The briefings

on Malaysia’s National Single Window and

ASEAN Single Window were delivered by Ms.

Azlina Awang Had from the Ministry of Finance

and Ms. Irzawati Abdullah from Dagang Net

Technologies Sdn. Bhd. Ms. Rita Paul and Ms.

Malar Supermanian from RMCD’s Information

Technology Division and uCustoms Project Team

respectively, presented the briefings on Customs

Information System and uCustoms. Although the

briefings and discussion sessions had to be

assisted by an interpreter the sessions were very

fruitful and the delegates from the Kyrgyz

Republic had participated actively in the

discussions by asking a lot of questions on the

topics presented. The delegates ended their three

days study tours by visiting Cargo Unit in Kuala

Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).


Joint Coordinating Committee Meeting on Rules of Origin with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)


T he Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) hosted the

Joint Coordinating Committee Meeting on Rules of Origin with Japan

International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on 2nd December 2015. The

meeting was attended by representatives from JICA, RMCD and Japan

Customs and Tariff Bureau (CTB). Dato` Subromaniam A/L Tholasy,

Deputy Director General of Customs (Customs and GST) chaired the

meeting.

The purpose of the

meeting was to discuss

among others on the

latest update on

summary report based

on the monitoring sheet,

the progress activity

report as well as the

result on baseline

survey. Presentations

on the agenda was

made by the

representative of JICA,

Rules of Origin (ROO)

Unit Team from RMCD

Customs Division and

Mr. Noboru Kurita,

Deputy Director for

International

Cooperation CTB.

The highlight of the meeting was the signing of minutes of the meeting

between Royal Malaysian Customs Department and Japan

International Coordinating Committee on Project for Enhancing

Transparency and Predictability of Preferential Rules of Origin on EPA/

FTAs in Customs Clearance in Malaysia.


M s Nor Haziah Abd. Wahab, Acting

Director of Customs, Corporate Planning

Division, Royal Malaysian Customs

Department received a courtesy calls by

a delegation from Australian Border

Force (ABF) on 10 December 2015. The

delegation consisted of four officers led

by Mr Chris Wall, Senior Executive at

Australian Border Force; Ms. Danielle

Yannopoulus, Counsellor (Malaysia,

Philippines & Brunei), ABF; Ms. Sandra

Jeffrey, Counsellor (Malaysia,

Philippines, Brunei), ABF and Mr. Niall

Kerr , First Secretary (Malaysia,

Philippines & Brunei), ABF. The purpose

of the visit was to thank RMCD for the

cooperation that has been extended to

ABF over the past few years and to

introduce Ms Sandra Jeffrey who will

take on Ms. Danielle Yannopoulus role

as Counsellor (Malaysia, Philippines,

Brunei), ABF.

VISITS/ COURTESY CALLS Visit by the Australian Border Force

This would be Ms. Danielle

Yannopoulus final official visit as

her duty as her tour of duty as the

Counsellor (Malaysia, Philippines &

Brunei), is ending on early January,

2016. During her tour of duty as

Counsellor, she had initiated a

significant move towards

strengthening the relationship

between Australian Customs and

RMCD. She has also provided

tremendous assistance to the

WCO Asia/Pacific Vice-Chair

Secretariat in performing

Malaysia’s role as the WCO Asia/

Pacific Vice-Chair.

On behalf of the RMCD, the

International Affairs Section wishes

Ms. Danielle all the best in his

future undertakings in Melbourne,

Australia.

P ursuant to the

adoption of the Integrated Nuclear

Security Plan (INSSP) 2013-2015

as a measure to protect national

border from nuclear security

threats, a delegation from

International Atomic Energy

Agency (IAEA) made an official visit

to the location where the Radiation

Portal Monitor (RPMs) were

installed on 4 - 6 November 2015.

The first venue was RMCD in Port

Klang where RPM was developed

under the cooperation of IAEA-

European Union-Joint Action IV.

The delegation was lead by Ms.

Karin Burmester and she was

accompanied by Mr. Philip Roger

Aubert and a representative from

Atomic Energy Licensing Board

Malaysia (AELB) Malaysia. The

purpose of the visit was to monitor

the performance and progress of

the RPM as well as to get input on

installation and operation of the


International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Delegation visit to RMCD Port Klang


device. It was a crucial task as

they need to report back the

effectiveness and suitability of

the devices to the European

Union-Joint Action Committee

and to seek extra financial

budget to cover the future

project.

After a short briefing and Q&A

session, the delegates were

taken for a tour visit to the

RMCD office, port facilities and

checkpoint areas where the

radiation detention equipment

were located. The next venues

for the visits are RMCD Durian

Burung Kedah and RMCD

Padang Besar Perlis.

C ongratulations to

Dr Ku Azizah binti Ku Daud,

a Senior Assistant Director

of Customs from the

International Affairs,

Corporate Planning

Division, Royal Malaysian

Customs Department

(RMCD) Headquarters who

had successfully completed

her PhD program at Royal

Melbourne Institute of

Technology University

(RMIT), Melbourne,

Australia in February 2015.

Her study was sponsored

by the Public Service

Department under Hadiah

Latihan Persekutuan (HLP)

program. Her PhD journey

started in July 2010 and her

thesis was officially submitted in August 2014. The topic of her

study was “The Impact of Slow Career Growth on Organisational

Commitment and Job Satisfaction: A Study of a ‘Closed’

Government Agency in Malaysia”. Dr Ku Azizah explored the

OUR STAFF Another RMCD Officer Successfully Completed Her PhD Program


relationship between career

growth, organisational

commitment and job

satisfaction in a ‘closed’

government agency in

Malaysia. Her research

identified the importance of

promotion equity,

professional ability

development, promotion

speed and job rotation. The

findings would enhance the

understanding of Human

Resource Management in

the public sector. She was

conferred by the university

in a graduation ceremony

on 16 December 2015 in

Melbourne. RMCD hopes

her achievement would be a

good example and inspire

other officials of RMCD and encourage them to grab the

opportunities provided by the government in enhancing their

education qualification during their services in the department.

Currently there are only seventeen PhD holders in RMCD.

The Honourable Dato’ Abdul Rahman Othman

Deputy Director General of Customs (Management)

Royal Malaysia Customs Department

The Honourable Ms Nor Haziah Abd Wahab

Acting Director of Corporate Planning Division

Royal Malaysian Customs Department

Distinguished Delegates of the 25th WCO Asia/Pacific

Regional Contact Points Meeting

Ladies and Gentlemen

Assalamualaikum and a very good morning to all of you.

First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks for

the opportunity to address all of you on this important

Meeting today. It is my pleasure to welcome all of you to

the 25th WCO Asia-Pacific Regional Contact Points

Meeting, held here at the Royale Chulan Hotel right in the

heart of the city of Kuala Lumpur.

SPEECHES WCO 25th WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Contact Points (RCP) Meeting


I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate

Ms Nor Haziah Abd Wahab, the Acting Director of

Customs, Corporate Planning Division, Royal Malaysian

Customs and her team, the Vice-Chair Secretariat for

organizing this meeting. I would like to inform you that

the former Chair of the RCP meeting, Dato’ Ab Hamid

Salleh has already retired from his service with the

Royal Malaysian Customs Department last month and I

would like to take this opportunity to thank Dato’ Ab

Hamid for his excellent chairmanship of the RCP

meetings and his able leadership in guiding the Vice-

Chair Secretariat since we assumed the Vice-Chair post

in July 2014.

As all of you may recall, it has already been one and a

half year since Malaysia assumed the post of the WCO

Asia/Pacific Vice-Chair and I believe that all of you

would agree with me that the Vice-Chair Secretariat has

put a lot of effort and hard work in fulfilling their role and

responsibilities as the Vice-Chair Secretariat. For that, I

would like to thank Ms Nor Haziah Abd Wahab and the

Vice-Chair Secretariat for their great effort, commitment,

dedication and excellent work done thus far.

KEYNOTE SPEECH

BY

DATO’ SRI KHAZALI HJ. AHMAD

WCO ASIA/PACIFIC VICE-CHAIR

AT THE

25TH WCO ASIA/PACIFIC REGIONAL CONTACT

POINTS (RCP)

MEETING

17TH—19TH NOVEMBER 2015

KUALA LUMPUR

SPEECHES WCO 25th WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Contact Points (RCP) Meeting


Ladies and gentlemen,

As the Vice-Chair for the Asia/Pacific Region, I would

like to emphasize that the success of our works will

depend on the involvement, support and cooperation of

you as Members of the Asia/Pacific region. In this

regard, I am happy to say that, since I have been the

Vice-Chair for the Asia/Pacific Region, I have been

receiving a very strong support and cooperation from

you as Members. Your attendance to this 25th Regional

Contact Point Meeting is a clear indicator of your strong

support to the WCO regional activities at the time when

many of us including Malaysia are experiencing

economic slowdown due to several factors such as the

weakening of most of the world currencies and the drop

in oil prices.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to thank the WCO for its consistent strong

support to the Asia/Pacific region. I could recall that in

the last Regional Consultation meeting that we had

during the WCO Council Sessions last June a member

highlighted the issue of IPR enforcement in his country

and I responded by proposing a regional operation to

address IPR issues. The WCO immediately responded

to this proposal and hence a regional enforcement

operation to combat IPR infringement is currently in

progress. I would like to thank the WCO, ROCB A/P and

RILO A/P for taking up this initiative.

Another regional operation, Joint Enforcement Operation

against Illicit Trafficking in Narcotics was conducted from

6th to 17th July this year. The operation was an outcome

of Project CADS which was initiated by Hong Kong

Customs and the operation itself was coordinated by

RILO A/P. For that I would like to thank and congratulate

Hong Kong Customs and RILO A/P for this excellent

initiative and thank you to all the Members who had

participated in this operation.

I would also like to thank the Asia/Pacific Regional Office

for Capacity Building (ROCB A/P) for its strong support

to the Vice-Chair office and continuous effort in

planning, developing and delivering capacity building

programs for Customs Administrations in this region.

Just two weeks ago the 13th WCO Asia/Pacific Regional

Training Centres (RTCs) Heads meeting was held at the

Royal Malaysian Customs Academy (AKMAL) in Melaka.

I am glad to note that among the agenda items

discussed in that meeting was the development of the

Asia/Pacific Regional Strategic Plan (RSP) for 2016 –

2018. As Capacity Building is one of the Focus Areas in

the RSP for 2016-2018, the inputs from the RTCs are

valuable in ensuring that the capacity building needs of

the region will be reflected in the Regional Strategic

Plan.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This 25th WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Contact Points

Meeting will be discussing some important issues such

as:

Nomination Process of the next Asia/Pacific Vice-Chair

Proposal to review the Terms of Reference of the

Regional Contact Points for the Asia/Pacific Region, and

Private Sector Engagement at Regional Heads Meeting

As always, I would not expect that we would come out

with a consensus on all the issues but I do hope that we

will put the regional interest above our own national

interest in making any decision.

To conclude my remark, it is my sincere hope that the

25th WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Contact Points Meeting

will have a stimulating and fruitful discussion and I hope

that over the week, we will build stronger network and

friendship among us that will last for many years to

come. With that, in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious

and the Most Merciful, I declare the 25th WCO Asia/

Pacific Regional Contact Points Meeting be officially

open.

Thank you.


The Twenty-Third Meeting of the Coordinating Committee

on Customs (CCC) was held on 24-26 November 2015 in

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. The Meeting

was attended by the representatives of ASEAN Member

States and the ASEAN Secretariat. The Malaysian

Delegation was represented by Dato’ Hassan Ibrahim,

Assistant Director General of Customs (Enforcement), Tn.

Sazali Mohamad, Head of WCO Asia/Pacific Vice-Chair

Secretariat and Tn. Mohd Badrulnizam Mohd Nasir,

Assistant Director of Customs, International Affairs.

ASEAN The 23rd ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Customs (CCC) Meeting

The Meeting was officially opened by Mr. Haji Abd Khalid

Bin Haji Abd Halim, acting Deputy Controller of Customs

of Royal Customs and Excise Department, Brunei

Darussalam and he subsequently chaired the Meeting.

During the meeting Dato’ Hassan Ibrahim in his capacity

as the Chair for the Customs Enforcement and

Compliance Working Group (CECWG) reported on the

progress and achievements made by the CECWG for the

period of May to October 2015.


ASEAN The 23rd ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Customs (CCC) Meeting

Two consultations with ASEAN Dialoge Partners were held

during the meeting namely 16th CCC – Japan Customs

Consultation and 7th CCC – Korean Customs Consultation.

The 16th CCC-Japan Consultation was co-chaired by the

Philippines and the representative of Japan Customs. The

Meeting noted that Japan was in the process of reviewing

the draft Action Plan on the Establishment of the East Asia

Single Window prepared by the Republic of Korea, since it

would still be premature and need further consideration.

On her recent developments in trade and customs, Japan

shared with ASEAN on her views towards recent terrorist

threat against humanity. Japan Customs would enforce

necessary efforts to identify high-risk travelers when

entering Japan through Advance Passenger Information

(API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR).

With regard to the ASEAN-Japan Customs cooperation,

Japan informed the Meeting that the training manual on

Rules of Origin (ROO) which was the outcome of the

previous Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) project was

used in a recent training on ROO in Cambodia sponsored by

the ADB Trust Fund.

The 7th CCC-Korea Consultation was co-chaired by

Malaysia and the representative of Korea Customs Service

(KCS). Korea informed the Meeting that the ASEAN+3

Leaders had come up with 25 recommendations, one of

which was the establishment of the East Asia Single Window.

Korea had prepared the draft Action Plan on the

establishment of the East Asia Single Window for

consideration by ASEAN+3. The Action Plan consisted of

three strategies, namely i) to conduct feasibility study and

form a steering committee and a working party; ii) to construct

customs data exchange system; and iii) to compose an

overall decentralised single window system where relevant

organisations and private enterprises could exchange data

through the single window.

With regard to the conclusion of the WTO Trade Facilitation

Agreement (TFA), Korea informed the Meeting that she would

expedite the entry into force of this agreement taking into

account that the TFA emphasised simplification and

standardisation of customs clearance.

Korea also informed the Meeting that her AEO programme

had already been in place since April 2009, with 728

businesses authorised as AEOs in October 2015. Korea has

MRAs with 12 countries, making her the world’s largest

contracting country. Korea pointed out that she would provide

technical assistance for the adoption of AEO programme by

ASEAN and hoped to obtain AEO MRAs with ASEAN

Member States in the future.

ASEAN The 18th Meeting of the ASEAN Customs Enforcement & Compliance Working Group (CECWG)


T he 18th Meeting of the

ASEAN CECWG was held in

Yangon, Myanmar on 20nd

to 22th

October, 2015. Twenty four

delegates from ASEAN Member

States excluding Lao PDR attended

the Meeting. The Meeting was

chaired by the Honourable Dato’

Haji Hassan Ibrahim, Assistant

Director General of Customs

(Enforcement), Royal Malaysian

Customs Department (RMCD).

The honourable Dato’ Haji Hassan

in his opening remarks invited the

meeting to record an appreciation to

the honourable Dato’ Zulkifli Yahya

for his excellent chairmanship in the

previous meetings. He also

expressed appreciation to the

Myanmar Customs for their kind

hospitality and excellent facilitation

of the meeting.

RMCD was represented by Tuan Hj.

Mohd Nordin Abdullah, Deputy

Director of Customs (Enforcement)

RMCD Perak and Tuan Aminuddin

Hamzah, Senior Assistant Director

of Customs, International Affairs

Section, RMCD Headquarters.

During the Meeting RMCD

delegates presented the progress

report of ASEAN Customs Strategic

Plan of Customs Development

(SPCD) on Public Security and

Protection of the Society. They also

presented RMCD study cases on

Post Clearance Audit (PCA),

Enforcement Cases and the Drugs

Seizures Statistic for 2015.


ASEAN ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS) in the Pipeline

A SEAN Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Good In Transit or AFAFGIT, was

signed by the Minister Of International Trade And Industry (MITI) in 1998. This agreement is a

cornerstone for ASEAN initiative to establish a single market and production base which promotes



free flow of goods, services, capital and skill

labour. In line with that, the establishment of

ASEAN Economic Community or AEC by 2015

envisaged by ASEAN Economic Leaders

requires that we have a fully harmonized

Customs environment and effective Customs

Transit System, regionally, to underpin the free

flow of trade.

To realize the ultimate goal of the AEC 2015,

ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS) is

developed as one of the initiatives undertaken

by the ASEAN Member States to achieve the

objectives underlined by the agreement aiming

to:

facilitate transportation of goods in transit;

support the implementation of the ASEAN

Free Trade Area;

further integrate the region’s economies;

simplify and harmonize transport, trade and

regulations, and requirements for the

purpose of facilitation of goods in transit;

and

establish an effective, efficient, integrated

and harmonized transit transport system in

ASEAN.

ACTS is a computerized Customs transit

management system for transporting goods

across ASEAN borders as set out in Protocol 7

of AFAFGIT. This system is a fully

computerized transit system with several key

elements including single declaration

throughout a transit journey, single guarantee

which is valid throughout the transit journey,

single means of transport from departure to

destination, and simplified procedure for

authorized transit trader.

The European Union under the ASEAN

Regional Integration Support from the EU

(ARISE) technical assistance program has

provided €3 million financial support for the

development and testing of the software

application for the ACTS. The financial support

will be supplemented by workshops, training

and procedural manuals for the public and

private sector stakeholders involved in

Customs, transport and international trade.

In the spirit of ASEAN, to facilitate the

transportation of goods across border while

maintaining customs controls to protect national

revenue and security, a lot of work has been

done by the Member States to gain a common

understanding on the right model of ACTS for

regional implementation. With the support from

ASEAN Regional Integration Support of Europe

(ARISE), Member States have progressively

been working with development team to

determine the ACTS application for regional

transit. Series of workshops and discussions

were held to develop harmonized and mutually

agreed customs procedures for the movement

of transit cargoes. In the meantime, the ASEAN

Member States have given undivided

commitments in addressing the implications

and particular issues at national level relating to

the introduction of ACTS to extend a common

understanding among Member States for the

successful implementation of the ACTS.



As a starting point of ACTS implementation,

ASEAN member states have agreed that the

ACTS is only applicable for transit of goods

regionally by road. They have also agreed that

the pilot testing of the ACTS would only involve

three countries which are Malaysia, Thailand

and Singapore. The pilot will involve ASEAN

North-South Corridor through ASEAN Highway

(AH2) as the proposed transit transport route.

Currently we are at the second phase of the

ACTS development. In phase 3, pilot testing will

be held from July to December 2016 (which

was delayed for two months from the earlier

plan). The pilot testing will be carried out in

three phases as follows:

Phase A: testing of system only

Phase B: ‘parallel run’ which will involve

testing of the ACTS in parallel with the

normal transit procedure

Phase C: ‘single run’ of trucks which will

involve testing of the ACTS on ‘real truck

movement’.

Three ASEAN sectoral bodies will be involved

in the implementation of the pilot system. The

Customs sector led by the Sub Working Group

on ACTS (SWG-ACTS) will play a leading role

in managing and monitoring the implementation

of the ACTS. National ACTS Project Teams

have been appointed to manage the

implementation of the ACTS pilot application at

national level. The other ASEAN sectoral

bodies that will play an equally important role in

the implementation of the ACTS will be the

transport and financial sectors.

Nevertheless, the pilot phase could only be

legally realized once the relevant Protocols are

signed and ratified accordingly. In line with this,

Member States are working on getting

domestic clearance as well as common

understanding to expedite the process.

Member States are also foreseeing the

possibility of having an MOU as a viable

alternative, especially among the pilot

countries, in the case where the legal

instruments are not in place on time for the pilot

testing.

The roll-out phase of ACTS implementation

after successful implementation of the pilot

would depend on the readiness of the Member

States to embark on live implementation of the

transit system. The successful implementation

of the ACTS would require the support and

cooperation of all the related stakeholders

including the government agencies and the

private sector.

Toward this end, it is profoundly expected that

the implementation of ACTS will not only

reduce cost and time taken to transit goods by

road in ASEAN region but will also be expected

to act as a catalyst to implement the ASEAN

transport agreements to build the ASEAN

single market and production base.

CAPACITY BUILDING

RILO A/P Expert Mission Training to Malaysia


N ineteen officers of Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD)

participated in the WCO RILO A/P Expert Mission Training held from

11th to 13th August 2015 at Royal Malaysian Customs Headquaters, Putrajaya. Four

officers of RILO A/P and one officer from Korea Customs Service were the trainers

for the course. Mr. Hwang Seung-ho, Head of RILO A/P and Dato’ Ab Hamid Salleh,

Director of Customs Corporate Planning Division of Malaysia Customs jointly

officiated the opening ceremony of the training.

During the course the participants were

trained to input seizure data into the

Customs Enforcement Network (CEN),

download CEN data to Microsoft Access

format for analysis to identify new risk

indicators and trends, and introduced to

basic and advanced statistical analysis

techniques using Microsoft Excel. Beside

this, the participants were exposed to

RILO A/P activities and projects such as

DSINS, Project Crocodile, and Project

Sky-Hole-Patching as well as special

operations such as Project CADS and

Operation Sesha. The trainer from Korea

Customs Service provided an overview of

the National drug trafficking situation in

Korea for the purpose of sharing

experiences and good practices.

The participants benefitted greatly from

the knowledge imparted by the trainers

who are experts in their respective fields.

It is hoped that with the knowledge

gained, RMCD officers will be able to

enhance the intelligence capability as

well as support RILO A/P and WCO

enforcement and intelligence activities.

T wenty six participants from Asia/Pacific region attended

the Train-the-Trainer Workshop on Joint Enforcement Action

against Counterfeiting and Piracy held from 21st to 23rd

September, 2015 in AKMAL, Melaka. The workshop was

organized by the WCO and ROCB A/P under sponsorship

by Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF) Japan. WCO

accredited experts from the WCO and Japan Customs

facilitated the workshop.

During the workshop, participants learned about the

operations organized by the WCO, activities of Regional

CAPACITY BUILDING Train-The-Trainer Workshop for Joint Enforcement Action against Counterfeiting and Piracy in the Asia/Pacific Region (Action IPR A/P)


Intelligence Liaison Office Asia/Pacific (RILO A/P), the

objectives and practical steps towards the operation.

Participants discussed the issues and challenges in

implementing the operation. The workshop also focused

on risk assessment based on IPR specific indicators.

Members of the private sector representing the right

holders presented their products identification and

practical steps to contact them. The participants were also

advised on the approach to be taken for the WCO Joint

Enforcement on IPR.

international affairs bulletin issue 3/2015

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