Reforms at Immigration Dept to curb bribery attempts

PUTRAJAYA: The Immigration Department has pledged to carry out administrative reforms to reduce the possibility of foreigners paying its officers to be allowed to enter the country.

While action had been taken against several “bad hats” in the department, its director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali promised to continue to weed out corrupt officers whom he said had marred the image of thousands of others who were trustworthy and with integrity.

Mustafar warned against attempts to bribe his officers, saying that these people would also be punished.

“We are transparent and I’m not going to deny that some of my officers are involved in such activities.

“But this will stop now. We will clean up the department. If there are other officers on the take, I will go hard on them and there will be no compromise.

“I am warning everyone – do not bribe my officers. The department will work together with other enforcement agencies to also book those who offer bribes to Immigration officers. There should be no givers or takers,” he warned.

According to a news report, a group of Immigration enforcement officers had reneged by accepting from RM200 to RM2,500 to allow the exit and entry of more than 16,000 foreign nationals from numerous nations. As a result of the activity since 2014, the group had amassed about RM18mil.

Speaking to reporters after meeting employers and representatives of foreign workers agencies, the director-general said four Immigration officers had been charged over this while others were being investigated and monitored.

He said while punitive actions await those who give and accept bribery, the department would also take preventive measures to strengthen its system and procedure to ensure loopholes were covered and weaknesses rectified.

For example, while those who enter Malaysia as tourists must show proof of stay as well as return ticket to country of origin, this procedure has not been fully implemented.

“Now we will look at how to make sure this regulation is implemented,” said Mustafar.

On the dialogue with stakeholders, Mustafar said employers and agencies had urged the department to process applications for foreign workers faster.

“I pointed out that while we expedite the process, there will be no compromise when it comes to abiding our laws and regulations. We will not process applications where documents are incomplete or worse, forged.

“The Immigration Department is the frontline and it is our job to protect the sovereignty of the country by preventing syndicates from smuggling in foreigners,” he said.