The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will investigate allegations of corruption by immigration officers when handling foreign tourists at the country’s entry points.
MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the commission was gathering information from the parties involved, including a well-known dignitary and the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM), to facilitate the investigation.
“MACC will investigate this matter accordingly and the public is urged not to sensationalise and speculate on the matter,” he told Bernama on Saturday (Jul 1).
A local news portal on Thursday reported that a commotion occurred at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) when a Malaysian minister allegedly attempted to “rescue” a female Chinese national who was denied entry into the country.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing reportedly barged into the arrival hall without applying for a security pass, with the incident going viral on social media.
Immigration Director-General Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said on Friday his department would investigate the incident.
Separately, Prime Minister made an unannounced visit to KLIA Immigration and Customs counters he said he found several problems in the two departments and an investigation for improvement with appropriate actions would follow.
“There are some Customs weaknesses which need to be remedied. Generally, the majority of the services by Immigration employees and personnel are proceeding smoothly. There are some problems, we would investigate to improve and appropriate actions would be taken if there are flaws,” he said.
The Prime Minister said he will study the measures for improvement that have been taken and should be taken.
“So far I have seen the response of Immigration is very good and positive. What we have to identify are some small groups that are still unable to bring about change including facing several charges,” he said.
