I refer to recent letters directing their author's displeasure at our immigration officers, in particular the one by Brad Shepherd .

Let's be fair here. I agree our immigration officers tend to act nonchalant. Some may term this unfriendly but would you rather get a guy not really interested in flashing his smile at you or one who will scan you from head to toe and continue staring at you as though you are about to embark on a criminal enterprise?

I have the pleasure, or rather the displeasure, of being 'scanned' by both British and Australian immigration officers and I can tell you it's not a pleasant experience. I vividly remember having to answer no less than five questions at Heathrow, some of which were so redundant. I certainly don't remember him saying 'Welcome to London' or 'Have a nice stay' after his mini- interrogation.

I encountered a similar experience in Perth two years ago. The moment the lady officer saw my Malaysian passport, her smile vanished faster than I could say 'Hi'. This was followed by some questions which I noticed had not been directed to the Singaporean couple in front of me. And yes, the stare was there too.

Maybe Shepherd doesn't know the humiliation we have to endure to enter his country. As for the comment that Singaporean officers are friendly, again I have to voice my dissent here. As a Johor Baru person, I can vouch that Singaporean immigration officers are just as crude.

Our officers are just doing their job. Sure it would be nice if they can import some friendly courtesy into their work but let's not be biased here. Things are not any better elsewhere. The point is, we shouldn't be at hasty in condemning Malaysian officers just because some foreigner is upset at them.

My message to Shepherd and fellow Malaysians is that yes, we do have room to improve but we are not treated any better (worse, in fact) in other countries. I don't know about you, Shepherd, but I would rather encounter a 'non-smiling' officer than an 'interrogator' one the next time I approach an immigration counter.