‘They must be registered’

At the dewan rakyat
Reports by MARTIN CARVALHO, HEMANANTHANI SIVANANDAM, RAHIMY RAHIM and LOSHANA K SHAGAR

Tourists from China still need to be registered despite the implementation of the visa waiver scheme, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said this was because the Chinese government wanted to know the whereabouts of their citizens.

“Tourists from China are allowed to stay for a maximum of 15 days and they need to return to their own country after that,” he said to a supplementary question by Fong Kui Lun (DAP-Bukit Bintang), who asked why tourists from China are not given visa exemption during the ministerial question time.

The visa waiver scheme introduced in March 2016 allows tourists from China to stay in Malaysia for a maximum of 15 days and instead of a tourist visa, they are issued a special travel note known as Electronic Travel Registration and Information (Entri).

A visa is still required for those wishing to stay between 15 and 30 days, and applications can be made online.

Responding to a question from Datuk Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah (BN-Lenggong), who asked about initiatives to facilitate visa application to attract more tourists, Dr Ahmad Zahid said electronic visa or e-visa introduced in May last year are applicable to 10 countries and that 700,000 visas had been issued to visitors from these countries.

Dr Ahmad Zahid said the system allowed visas to be issued in an efficient and quick manner, and that applications are usually approved within 48 hours.

The system, he said, also reduces cost because no middlemen are involved and applicants need not be physically present during the application process.

Malaysia, said Dr Ahmad Zahid, also works with Interpol, Aseanapol and other intelligence agencies to monitor those using the e-visa process.

He said the Government will also implement the Advanced Passen­gers Screening System to further strengthen and ensure that security is not compromised.