SHAH ALAM: The Army has taken delivery of a security intrusion detection system (SIDE) which was tendered out back in 2021. The tender for the system was published on September 9 2021, and closed ten days later. The Letter of Award of RM9.56 million was awarded to Harapan Erat Sdn Bhd, a company based in Kota Damansara, Selangor.
According to the companies which offer such capabilities, a SIDE is a wide range of technologies designed to give early warning of an intruder coming into a secure area. It is the equivalent of a radar system to monitor airspace or marine areas. In urban areas, CCTVs are mostly used for this purpose though more sophisticated systems add various other enhancements from video uploads to audio alerting systems.
The Army via the Fourth Division highlighted a demonstration of the system which was attended by the deputy chief Lt Jen Tengku Fauzi Tengku Ibrahim on April 14. The release:
𝗗𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗦𝗜 𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗗𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗣𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 (𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘)
SETAPAK, 16 April 2025 – Markas Divisyen Keempat Infantri Malaysia (4 Divisyen) telah melaksanakan demonstrasi pemgendalian dan pengoperasian peralatan Security Intrusion Detection Equipment (SIDE) di Kem Wardieburn pada 14 Apr 2025.
Acara dimulakan dengan Taklimat Pengendalian dan Pengorperasian Peralatan SIDE dan Demonstrasi Pengoperasian SIDE yang disampaikan oleh Ketua Tim Demostrasi dari 23 RAMD iaitu Mej Mohd Rozi bin Dia dan disusuli dengan Sesi Soal Jawab.
Turut hadir dalam acara tersebut adalah Timbalan Panglima Tentera Darat (TPTD), Lt Jen Dato’ Tengku Muhammad Fauzi bin Tengku Ibrahim, Panglima 4 Divisyen, Mej Jen Dato’ Khairul Azmizal bin Ahmad Natal, Panglima-Panglima Briged Naungan Formasi 4 Divisyen dan Ketua-Ketua BCJ yang terlibat.
It is unclear what system was chosen as the release did not identify it. However, from the public specifications we know that the autonomous system was meant for the border areas. The public specifications:
There is a requirement to equip the Malaysian Army with autonomous
Security Intrusion Detection Equipment for their operations especially at
border and zoning area. The equipment shall be an advanced perimeter
security method for area surveillance and perimeter protection. The
equipment shall be unattended, rapid- deployable, wireless and compact
in detecting intruders either pedestrian or vehicle crossed the area which
to be secured. This fully autonomous equipment shall utilize different
combinations of sensors to achieve the efficient detection of moving
targets
In the aftermath of the Lahad Datu incident, I was told that the Joint Force Command and the Army took delivery of a SIDE system from a British company for field evaluation in the ESSCOM AOR. The company was promoting the system just before the incident and so it was already a well-known entity when the Armed Forces sought to find the capability in the aftermath of it. I was told that the system worked well though the company officials are no longer based here following the pandemic.
It is likely the Army had incorporated the lessons from the operational evaluation for the contracted system.
— Malaysian Defence
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We know who it was acquired from but there has been no news on the underwater surveillance system ordered from Sepanggar some years ago. Understandably so I guess.
The Sarawak government has also allocated 11 million for UASs to perform border surveillance. That figure can buy a lot of commercial off the shelf systems.
There was news sometime back, that the complete delivery and IOC was delayed due to various issues. Since then it gone quiet.
Marhalim do you remember way back in the early 2000’s we were offered an underwater sub base from a Swedish company? Najib said it was too expensive. The NST ran the story and I wish I had made a cutting of the article and kept it.
Is there such a thing in the first place? I cannot remember it.
Yes the offer was made. Announced either at LIMA or DSA.
AFAIK the plan was to build an underground pen for the submarines at Sepanggar, in the end it did not happen as they ran out of money when they built the base.
Then maybe I was referring to the same thing. I definitely remember Najib mentionimg it and the Swedish angle.
Something else strange was a Russian official quoted in NST at LIMA 1999 offering us Backfires.
I see the benefits of such system, but I question how useful for us considering the length of our Kalimantan border.
It is the perennial problem, the services goes around making up the requirement and then the government appoints crony companies with little experience to the job. These companies then sub-contract the work to another company. And as usual, the cost of the project end up ballooning and in the end the result is less than 50 per cent of the actual requirement. Two of the glaring examples are the Gong Kedak airbase and Sepanggar naval base. They took almost five years to build a bridge to connect the base to the main road.
At LIMA all the sales people will say yes to anything.
There is no need to put the system on every part of the border, most are inaccesible, just the regular routes or what they called jalan tikus. And most of it come under PDRM not the armed forces.
A camera (normal/IR/thermal) linked to AI software to detect any movement is good enough for an intrusion detection system.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FU0A1ebX0AAHcV_.jpg
Reminds of the Lcs Nidar system. It was reported that the company Marss already installed it on the Lcs 2501. Any news about it? It was called Nidar 360