Cartel making use of immigration services for profit

The Home Ministry yesterday disclosed that it has received a report on the existence of cartel activities involving Immigration Department personnel in relation to immigration matters, said its Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.

He said the cartel’s involvement was not only related to promotions in the Immigration Department but it has also used immigration officers for its benefit.

Hamzah said according to his deputy, Datuk Jonathan Yasin, there were advertisements offering Temporary Employment Visit Pass issuance services in Sabah, which should not have happened because the Immigration Department had never appointed any agent for any immigration matters.

“Investigations will be carried out transparently to identify the officers involved and if there are any, we will take action against those who abuse their power,” he told a press conference after attending the 2021 Immigration Day Celebration here yesterday.

Hamzah said there were cartel members who were free to enter and exit the Immigration Department, and there were also cartel members who sat at airports and national entry points.

He said the existence of the cartel in the Immigration Department has tarnished the department’s reputation as it always had the best ranking in immigration services at international airports. This year, Kuala Lumpur International Airport was ranked fourth in the World’s Best Airport Immigration Service 2021, by Skytrax.

“If they (cartels) are easy to enter, if we can sell whatever we have easily, then we are not safeguarding our country’s sovereignty.”

He said the use of technology and assets such as automation, digitalisation, robotic, analytic CCTV, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence can reduce the existence of cartels or syndicates. – Bernama