THE Immigration Department of Malaysia (JIM) has reaffirmed its zero-tolerance policy towards corruption and abuse of power, warning that any officer implicated in misconduct will face immediate action without compromise.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the department would not protect any officer or personnel involved in corruption or other forms of misconduct, stressing that integrity remained fundamental to the department's operations.
He said JIM continued to receive intelligence linking a small number of its personnel to illegal activities, including "flying passport" operations, counter setting and the irregular approval of Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS).
"I have issued repeated warnings, but there will be no more warnings and no more reminders. We will continue taking action against officers involved in misconduct," he said during the department's monthly assembly on Friday.
Referring to the hacking of the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMs) involving PLKS applications and approvals, Zakaria said the department had identified from the outset that certain officers were aware of or allegedly involved in the syndicate.
He said JIM and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deliberately allowed the operation to continue while investigators gathered sufficient evidence to identify all those responsible.
"From the first day the incident occurred, we knew the officers involved were aware of what was happening. However, if I had stopped it immediately, we would not have been able to identify everyone involved.
"That is why we allowed it to continue while gathering evidence to identify the culprits and masterminds behind the operation," he said.
Zakaria urged Immigration personnel to uphold the highest standards of integrity and to cease any wrongdoing before enforcement action was taken.
He added that all Immigration-related transactions would continue to be closely monitored to prevent abuse of power and misconduct.
"I hope this serves as a lesson to other officers. If anyone is currently involved in wrongdoing, stop before we take action. As I have said before, I already have the information," he said.
On Tuesday, five more Immigration officers were arrested by the MACC for allegedly colluding in the MyIMMs hacking syndicate involving the unlawful processing and approval of PLKS applications.
Zakaria had earlier said JIM would revoke all PLKS approvals found to have been fraudulently issued through the syndicate under Ops Crack.
Separately, the department announced it had crippled a "flying passport" syndicate with the arrest of three suspects believed to have generated false immigration movement records for foreign nationals without them physically passing through Malaysia's border checkpoints.
Zakaria said the suspects, aged between 33 and 41, were detained during an operation at the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) in Gelang Patah, Johor, on Thursday.
The operation, which began at 10am, was carried out by officers from the department's Intelligence and Special Operations Division at its Putrajaya headquarters, together with Johor Immigration personnel.
"The operation was launched following developments uncovered during Ops Crack, a joint investigation with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission," he said.
Authorities seized mobile phones, premises keys, jewellery, Immigration security stamps and RM20,000 in cash during the raids.
Investigators found that the syndicate collected passports from foreign nationals without requiring the passport holders to be physically present at immigration checkpoints.
Agents allegedly forwarded images of passport biodata pages via WhatsApp to accomplices, who then scanned the information into the Immigration system to create fraudulent immigration movement records.
"The syndicate charged RM700 for each passport processed through the scheme," Zakaria said.
The three suspects are being investigated under Section 12(1)(h) of the Passports Act 1966.
Zakaria said investigations were continuing to identify the syndicate's wider network, adding that the department remained committed to taking firm action against any criminal activity that undermined the integrity of Malaysia's immigration system. - August 7, 2026
