PUTRAJAYA: Immigration officers will be taught basic Mandarin and other essential languages in an effort to provide a friendlier service at the country’s entry points.
Besides easing communication, Immigration Department director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud (pic) said the move was also made in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign.
“As part of our ongoing effort to improve the Immigration Department, we want to enhance our counter service, especially at the KLIA (KL International Airport) and other airports.
“Our officers must provide a friendly service because they are our visitors’ first impression of the country when they arrive.
“Those who are stationed at counters will be taught a basic level of Mandarin and other languages to help ease communication, ” he said in an interview ahead of the Immigration Department Day celebrations today.
Khairul Dzaimee, who took over the helm of the department in January this year, said one of his focus areas was personal development for all his officers.
“For me, training and upskilling of our officers is a very important aspect.
“This year, we increased the training period for our cadet officers to four months.
“As for existing officers, they, too, will be required to attend intensive courses to improve themselves, ” he said.
He also spoke on instilling integrity among Immigration officers.
“My wish is for the Immigration Department to be an enforcement agency that is respected by all because of the integrity of our officers, ” he added.
Besides training, Khairul Dzaimee said the department would also beef up its enforcement operations.
“When I inherited the department, we already had a policy where there is no day without an enforcement operation.
“I continued that policy and we intend to increase it further.
“With the Back For Good (B4G) amnesty programme ending on Dec 31, we will ensure that on Jan 1 we will go ahead with our enforcement efforts on a massive scale.
“There will be no compromise for illegal immigrants who are caught after the programme, ” he said.
Khairul Dzaimee also said the department did not intend to extend the deadline of the Back For Good programme.
“As we are approaching the deadline, we see the queues at the Immigration Department getting longer and we expect this to increase further.
“To accommodate this, we have extended our operating hours from 5pm to 10pm on weekdays. We also open on Saturdays until 3pm.
“However, the Home Ministry has made it clear that there will be no extension of the Dec 31 deadline, ” he added.
The B4G programme was introduced this year as an effort to reduce the number of illegal immigrants in the country.
Under the programme, illegal immigrants are allowed to return home without punishment as long as they pay a RM700 compound and can produce flight tickets.
On the Immigration Department Day celebrations, Khairul Dzaimee said for the first time, the department would honour outstanding officers with medals.
The department would also be giving out a special award to an individual for his lifelong contribution to the department.
