PETALING JAYA - A Malaysian minister who was reported to have caused a commotion at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) said he had to step in to help a traveller from China, who alleged that she was asked to pay several thousand ringgit to be allowed entry into the country.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing also claimed there was “a culture of corruption among a number of (immigration) officers as well as chronic abuse of power at the country’s major gateway”, and called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to “enter KLIA in full force to probe what is actually happening in this major entry point”, reported New Straits Times.
The minister’s visit to KLIA’s Terminal 1 on Thursday went viral after news portal Bebas News reported that he barged into the restricted zone without a permit to free a Chinese national.
Datuk Seri Tiong responded to the allegation on Friday, saying he decided to intervene after receiving a call for help from a staff member of the Consulate General of Malaysia in Guangzhou.
He learnt that the Chinese traveller arrived in Malaysia with her superior, a senior official of a Chinese government-owned TV station, who came to pursue her PhD at a university in Shah Alam.
While the senior official was allowed entry, her personal assistant was told there were discrepancies in her travel documents and she had to pay several thousand ringgit to enter the country. Both their phones were seized.
“What powers do they have to seize their phones?” the minister asked, adding that the incident had caused the women, who were visiting Malaysia for the first time, “great embarrassment”.
“I contacted the MACC and, together with its officers, we went over to KLIA at 3am to investigate,” he said.
Immigration officers told Mr Tiong there was a misunderstanding between them and the travellers due to language barrier.
Mr Tiong said the Immigration Department could have engaged translators who are employed by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad if the language barrier was the issue.
After the minister’s intervention, the personal assistant was allowed to enter Malaysia with her superior.
“(The travellers) have recorded all the conversations that transpired with the airport officials and intend to expose their unpleasant experience when they return to China,” Mr Tiong was quoted as saying in The Star.
He added: “Thursday’s incident was the fifth time I had gone to intervene on such matters. Also, claims that I did not have a pass to enter the arrival zone is untrue as I do have one which is valid until next year.”
Mr Tiong said “it is high time that the MACC enter KLIA in full force to probe what is actually happening in this major entry point”.
“I’m grateful that my presence there managed to uncover an embarrassing situation for the country, in which there is a culture of corruption among a number of officers as well as chronic abuse of power at the country’s major gateway,” the minister said.
He added that he did not want to expose the incident, and believed that it was insiders who leaked the photo of him at the airport.
He said the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission should investigate the distribution of the photo and the false information.
“We don’t know their intention but they may have been worried that their ‘rice bowl’ may be affected. They could also be trying to protect their friends by leaking information, making baseless accusations and spreading false reports,” he was quoted as saying in New Straits Times.
“I also received information that some officers simply interpret the laws as they like when on the ground. The woman in question, for example, was not given sufficient food during detention, which is against the law,” Mr Tiong said.
He said he learnt that some immigration officers would demand up to RM3,000 (S$875) to go through a special lane.
Immigration Department director-general, Datuk Ruslin Jusoh, said on Friday that “a thorough investigation covering all aspects connected to the incident will be carried out”.
