Malaysia's state news agency quoted Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as saying the passengers using the stolen European passports were of Asian appearance, and criticizing border officials who let them through.
As far as stopping passengers of Asian appearance with European sounding names is concerned, it is really a slippery slope to go down.
I know a number of people from Asian backgrounds, particularly places like the Philippines, India and Sri Lanka, with names that may be construed as French, Spanish or even British, and who are citizens of European or other western countries. Conversely, Oriental and Indian sounding names (particularly female) are now gaining popularity in the west.
Do we really want to add another layer of complexity to airport security by necessitating that anyone who has a name that does not "match" their appearance, in the security officer's opinion, be singled out for greater scrutiny?!
Perhaps, it's time all countries expend the resources required to ensure better co-ordination with Interpol databases, which in this case had flagged both travel documents as stolen shortly after they were reported missing.