Immigration Dept axes 20 officers linked to counter-setting cartel

The Immigration Department announced that it has dismissed 20 officials who were found guilty of involvement in a “counter-setting” syndicate, while another 277 remain under investigation.

In an interview with Berita Harian, Immigration Department chief Zakaria Shaaban explained that the dismissals were enforced following court convictions, which confirmed the officers’ involvement in the crime.

"Action has been taken, including the heaviest penalty of dismissal, against those involved in misconduct, including the counter-setting syndicate.

“This proves that we will not compromise on any misconduct that undermines the integrity and transparency of immigration services.

"The 20 officers dismissed and the 227 still under investigation were previously stationed at the country's entry points, including Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Penang, Bukit Kayu Hitam, and the Sultan Iskandar Building in Johor," Zakaria (above) said.

He also explained that the department had spent between six months to three years to prove their case, leading up to the conviction.

Zakaria acknowledged the time-consuming nature of the disciplinary process, which required thorough investigations to be conducted to obtain concrete evidence.

He also added that several officials have since been demoted, relocated to different departments, and suspended from their duties.

Further, he clarified that these individuals sacked did not include cases of those who have been dismissed for other disciplinary offences, as such cases were instead overseen by the Public Services Department.

Another cartel

On Wednesday, the Immigration Department announced that it had detected another counter-setting cartel involving high-ranking officials allegedly responsible for recruiting newer members stationed at the country’s entry points.

According to Zakaria, the department had resolved 254 disciplinary cases amongst its staff in 2024, while a further 199 cases have also been resolved up to Sept 17 this year.

He also said that at least 60 officials have been dismissed since 2022, and that hundreds of internal investigations have been conducted over several years, with many of these cases being linked to misconduct at the country’s entry points.

Zakaria further emphasised that his department had been cooperating with the MACC in efforts to root out corrupt officials, and that they were currently reviewing their procedures to avoid further loopholes from being exploited.

These efforts include 10 MACC personnel being deployed within the Immigration Department to strengthen internal monitoring, and a requirement for high-ranking immigration officials to declare their assets, which has been enforced since last year.

MACC probe

MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki recently announced that the agency was investigating the financial records of several high-ranking immigration officers who had been charged with counter-setting offences.

This followed the charges from last week, when the agency had found an immigration official husband-and-wife duo guilty of collecting bribes and opening a jewellery store stocked with gold worth RM1.4 million.

The graftbusters revealed that the duo had allegedly used illicit funds since 2020 to set up the jewellery store, using the wife’s sibling and their child as proxies.

Malaysiakini has previously reported extensively on KLIA’s counter-setting syndicates, which allow the unlawful clearance of individuals through immigration counters without proper procedures, particularly undocumented migrants in Malaysia.

In addition to this syndicate, Malaysiakini has also exposed other cases of border checkpoint misconduct, including fly syndicates (fake exit-entry stamps), and phantom travels (exit without system record).

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