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KUCHING, July 3: Malaysian Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Dato Seri Tiong King Sing has reportedly received a call from the office of the Consulate General of Malaysia in Guangzhou who relayed the detention of the Chinese national by Immigration officers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) last Thursday (June 29).
Tiong told the Star on Friday (June 30) that he had learnt the detained person was an employee of a China-based media company.
The woman arrived in Malaysia with her superior, a senior official of a Chinese government-owned TV station from Shenzhen, China. Both of them are believed to be in their 40s.
It is learnt that the TV station official had come to Malaysia to pursue PhD at a local university in Shah Alam, and the detained woman, who is the official’s personal assistant, accompanied her.
While her superior was cleared and allowed entry by the Immigration Department, the woman was denied entry, allegedly told there were discrepancies in her travel documents.
She alleged that she was asked to pay several thousand ringgits if she wanted to be allowed entry.
Following this, the station official called up the Consulate General of Malaysia in Guangzhou and sought help before the matter was relayed to Tiong by a staff member of the Consulate General’s office.
Tiong then contacted the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), and together with its officer, they went to KLIA at 3pm to investigate where he had met and spoke to both the visitors and Immigration officers on duty.
He also found out that the victim had her mobile phones seized by the Immigration officers.
It was not until Tiong’s intervention that the woman was later allowed to enter the country.
“They have recorded all the conversations that transpired with the airport officials and intended to expose their unpleasant experience when they return to China,” Tiong told The Star.
At the same time, Tiong said the KLIA incident was the fifth time he had gone to intervene and resolve such issues.
He further said the claims that he did not have a pass to enter the arrival zone is untrue as he does have one, which is valid until next year.
He also said that if there was a language barrier with Chinese travellers, the Immigration Department should have engaged translators employed by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB).
The KLIA incident received a lot of mixed reactions, with some arguing that Tiong’s action was unprofessional. In contrast, others backed him for being brave to expose alleged corruption practices at the immigration counters.
The matter is also expected to be discussed in the Federal Cabinet meeting on Wednesday (July 5). — DayakDaily
