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KUCHING, July 2: Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Dato Sri Tiong King Sing did not breach security protocol as ministers are allowed to enter prohibited areas at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
According to a report by news portal MalaysiaKini, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said every minister has a VIP pass to enter the area even if they were not boarding a flight.
“When he (Tiong) was at KLIA, he was accompanied by auxiliary police officers and Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB) security personnel.
“In terms of security pass, it is not an issue as every minister has a VIP pass to enter the airport even if they are not boarding a flight.
“Yesterday, I was at the airport not to catch flight but to officiate a flight so I entered the prohibited areas such as the departure hall and so on.
“For me, the pass issue does not arise because he (Tiong) is allowed to enter the prohibited areas,” Loke told reporters during a press conference in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan yesterday.
Elaborating further, Loke said he was not sure of what exactly happened as he was not present and there was no CCTV footage of the incident.
However, he said MAHB reported that Tiong was accompanied by security officers throughout his visit and when he was exiting the airport.
“Other than that, the Ministry of Home Affairs will conduct a thorough investigation and discuss it at the ministerial level,” he added.
On Thursday (June 29), it was reported that a federal minister has caused a commotion at KLIA by entering a restricted area to rescue a Chinese national who was detained by Immigration officers after entering Malaysia.
Tiong later confirmed that he was the minister involved but denied that he was there to demand the authorities to release the detained tourist, claiming that his intention was to expose the ‘culture of corruption’ within the Immigration Department’s handling of foreign visitors at KLIA. — DayakDaily
