[UPDATED] Not right for one bad apple to sully Immigration Dept’s reputation: Anwar

PUTRAJAYA – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said his surprise visit to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) yesterday was aimed at raising the credibility and integrity of the Immigration Department, which has seen public criticism.

Speaking at the Prime Minister’s Department’s monthly assembly here today, the prime minister said that, from his observation, the majority of the Immigration personnel at KLIA performed their duties well, and only a small handful held onto the old practices.

“We always say that one bad apple spoils the whole barrel… it is not right for us to give the general impression and perception (because of one bad apple) that the Immigration Department is flawed,” he added.

Anwar was at KLIA for about 30 minutes and from that visit, he found the management and operations of the Customs and the Immigration Departments to be under control and stated that appropriate action would be taken to improve the situation and resolve any problems.

Anwar said he found that only one of the seven luggage scanners operated by the Customs Department at KLIA was operational and wanted the situation rectified immediately.

“I am also the finance minister, and the Customs Department is under my responsibility. Does it need to wait for the minister to come only to know that the machines are damaged?

“If the cost is only a few million, we can approve it immediately and I believe that neither the KPPA (Public Services Director-General Datuk Zulkapli Mohamad) nor the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) will investigate (the immediate approval) because the situation is urgent,” he said.

As such, the prime minister emphasised the need for top officers to go down and see the department’s operations for themselves and not to make assumptions that everything was operating well.

“The aim is to improve, not to find fault or criticise,” he added.

Meanwhile, Anwar said he received information that there were individuals eligible for citizenship being asked to pay a sum of money for the citizenship certificate and believed that the matter was being investigated.

“There has to be strong and decisive action, otherwise it will hurt the image of the (National Registration Department’s) administration,” he said and expressed the need for all weaknesses to be rectified so that they would not affect the image of the department, civil servants and the country. – Bernama, July 3, 2023