Everything About the KLIA Saga That Accused Immigration Officers of Corruption

Corruption is a multi-headed monster which governments and companies alike struggle to tame.

Unfortunately, when corruption occurring in well-known institutions come to light, shame is brought to both the institution and the country it represents.

Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has been making the news recently for alleged corruption by its officers.

Here is what happened.

KLIA Officers Accused of Corruption by Malaysian Minister

Earlier this week, there were reports that a Chinese tourist was denied entry into Malaysia via KLIA unless she paid off the officers there.

KLIA is the largest and busiest airport in Malaysia.

A Malaysian minister, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, reportedly learnt of the tourist’s plight and stepped in to resolve the situation.

Datuk Tiong is the Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister, and this incident understandably falls within his remit.

According to Datuk Tiong, as reported by New Straits Times, the female tourist was detained for 15 hours upon her arrival at KLIA Terminal 1.

Datuk Tiong came to know about the issue of receiving a call for help from a staff member of the Consulate General of Malaysia in Guangzhou.

A Chinese traveller had arrived in Malaysia with her superior and was detained as there were allegedly discrepancies in her travel documents. She was asked to pay several thousand ringgit to enter Malaysia and had her phone confiscated.

Datuk Tiong’s appearance resolved the issue as the problem was whittled down to a communication issue between the tourist and immigration officers, with the tourist eventually being granted entry into Malaysia without paying any additional fees.

This incident came to light after the Malaysian news site Bebas News reported that Datuk Tiong barged into the restricted zone without a permit to free a Chinese national.

Datuk Tiong has since exalted for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to enter KLIA “in full force” to understand what is happening at the airport.

MACC to Probe Alleged Corruption at KLIA

The call for action worked.

The MACC has since announced that it will “investigate the matter” and urged the public “not to sensationalise or speculate this matter”, reported New Straits Times.

The chief commissioner of the MACC, Tan Sri Azam Baki, announced publicly that it would get information from the relevant individuals to investigate the wrongdoings that Datuk Tiong had exposed and look into the “culture of corruption” which shrouded the airport.

Together with the rest of the world, we’re waiting on the edge of our seats to see how this saga continues to unfold.