PSC to probe immigration law issues following KLIA incident

The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Human Rights, Elections and Institutional Reforms will investigate issues surrounding laws that prohibit immigrants from entering the country.

This includes the processes involved in the handling of travellers served with Not-to-Land (NTL) notices.

PSC chairperson William Leong said that the purpose of the investigation was to understand the limitations of the existing law and provide recommendations to improve or amend it.

He said that the committee was investigating the law following the ruckus that took place at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on June 29.

However, Leong (above) added that the incident or allegations that arose from it would not be investigated.

“It should be emphasised that neither this proceeding nor this committee will carry out any investigation into the possibility of an individual engaging in corrupt practices.

“The investigation will be conducted by MACC or Royal Malaysia Police as the body responsible for criminal investigations.

“The investigation to be carried out by this committee will instead look at the entire system and handling of prohibited immigrants and the NTL process as well as improvements that can be implemented by the government,” he said in a statement today.

The proceedings, he said, will take place on July 24 and 26 and will be attended by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, Transport Ministry, Malaysia Airports Holding Bhd (MAHB), Home Ministry and the Immigration Department.

Last month, Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing claimed to have intervened to “rescue” a Chinese tourist detained by the Immigration Department, and that the intervention allegedly uncovered corruption among airport officials.

In the wake of the incident, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the cabinet directed the Transport Ministry to review the process of managing travellers barred from entering by the Immigration Department.

Saifuddin later announced that the government decided that companies must manage travellers who are denied entry into Malaysia instead of a third party.

Saifuddin said the decision was in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation rule and Malaysia's Immigration Act, which stipulate that travellers turned away from a country are to be managed by the respective airline.

The current practice saw airline operators in the country hiring the service of a company called Monocircle to manage travellers that are issued NTL status by immigration.

According to Saifuddin, between January and June, a total of 3,984,823 travellers arrived in Malaysia through the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

From this figure, 14,977 were issued NTL for various reasons, including failure to show a return ticket, and an address for their stay in the country, among others.

The minister said travellers from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India were the top three nationals who have been turned away at Malaysia's entry points.

Prior to that, MAHB denied hiring companies to handle travellers issued NTL notices by the Immigration Department.

It said an independent company was appointed by KLIA Airline Operators Committee to handle passengers at KLIA, and not by MAHB.

The committee comprises 40 airline operators and 26 associates.

“The appointment was agreed and endorsed by the Immigration Department,” said MAHB.

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