MACC proposes no phones for immigration officers on duty at KLIA, to curb graft
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The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission identified 11 main problems and weaknesses involving the Immigration department.
PHOTO: ST FILE
PUTRAJAYA - Immigration officers, including supervisors, stationed at the counters of KL International Airport (KLIA) Terminals 1 and 2 should not have access to their mobile phones while on duty, said Tan Sri Azam Baki.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner said the proposal was made to the immigration department following a crackdown on counter setting activities, which saw 49 immigration officers nabbed.
“By blocking access to their mobile phones, it can prevent them from being contacted by outside parties.
“They also need other communication methods while on duty,” he told a press conference at the MACC headquarters on Sept 18.
Currently, the work schedule for officers manning the counters is set when they are already in the counter zones, he said. “Maybe other parties can decide on the work schedule beforehand.”
Mr Azam said the commission had identified 11 main problems and weaknesses involving the immigration department, which led to syndicates being able to bring in agents via the counter setting method.
“One of the main problems is lack of internal control when (the officers) are on duty, enabling syndicate agents to easily approach them.
“Another problem is non-systematic work rotation for immigration officers stationary at KLIA Terminals 1 and 2. That too gave the agents easy access to the officers manning the counters,” he said.
“This is because the agents would know who is stationed at which counter beforehand.”
Mr Azam said another weakness identified was a lack of supervision, which led to loopholes in operating procedures.
“Checking systems on entry for foreigners are also easily manipulated and hard to review.
“There were other weaknesses discovered, including officers stationed too long at the same location” he said. Another issue was that of immigration officers who gave and received bribes to and from one another.
Mr Azam said the MACC also discovered that there was no monitoring nor an extra layer of filtering documents of foreigners and their accommodation while in Malaysia.
“The large amount offered as bribes is a big problem as well,” he said. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
