SHAH ALAM – Unsatisfied after being chastised by immigration officers while applying for a passport with his son at the Anggerik Mall Urban Transformation Centre (UTC), a man in his 50s went to the police to lodge a report.
A copy of his report and a 26-second video clip were widely shared on social media, mostly detailing how the man was disappointed by the long wait and subsequent arguments with the officers on duty, reported Utusan Malaysia.
According to the report, the man went to the immigration office in Kuala Selangor as it was close to his home in Puncak Alam, but it had issues with its online system, so he went to Anggerik Mall UTC.
“After waiting for at least four hours, I asked a supervising officer why my number wasn’t called, but he argued that I did not go to the counter.”
The man was dissatisfied with the response, leading him to kick a metal pole, saying he was being played and made a fool.
Following that, the man said a woman officer manning counter five shouted and swore at him and banged the table.
“She shooed me out of the office and warned me to not bring my family here. I recorded the incident.”
In the viral video, the man could be heard saying, “You are rude to me, you play games with me, no problem... I have recorded everything,” while the woman officer responded with: “Hey, who’s wrong? No manners. Get out. Eh, record it, stupid!”
The man also said that the immigration office in question did not put up a notice that only 200 numbers were given out daily to customers.
Meanwhile, Shah Alam police chief Mohd Iqbal Ibrahim said the complainant made a report and it has been referred to the Immigration Department and the Home Ministry.
“We found no element of a crime. The complainant made a report (because) he was dissatisfied with the service provided by the staff. The case has been referred to Selangor Immigration for an internal investigation.”
In May, two reporters from The Vibes were threatened by security guards outside the immigration office at Pudu UTC here after attempting to speak to people waiting in line.
Later, immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud was on the receiving end of criticism after he posted a tweet from Portugal that appeared to mock complaints about long queues back home.
His tweet appeared to take a swipe at grouses of long lines and waiting times at the immigration office in the UTC complex here recently.
In the same month, hundreds were seen clamouring at Ipoh UTC as they elbowed their way to the immigration office when shutters opened at 7.50am.
Many netizens have also gone on social media to vent their frustration over long queues at several immigration offices around the country as more people attempted to renew or apply for passports.
Khairul in May said that immigration offices at UTCs in Peninsular Malaysia will be operating until 10pm beginning May 25 to facilitate the obtaining of the Malaysian international passport by the public.
However, the immigration offices at the UTCs in Perlis, Terengganu and Pahang would only be operating until 6pm due to the still low demand for passports.
