KUALA LUMPUR: The additional Immigration counters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) will be completed by the end of November.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the 12 extra counters are aimed at improving the Immigration Department's services at the country's main entry point following an issue involving a visitor from China in June.
“This is a strategic collaboration between Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad and the Transport Ministry," he said in a parliamentary written reply to Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Baru) on Monday (Oct 30).
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Takiyuddin had asked about the results of the investigation into an incident at the airport that involved Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
Saifuddin explained that the investigation had concluded and several steps taken to improve Immigration clearance, which includes the placement of interpreters and additional personnel.
In June, Tiong was reported to have been at the centre of a commotion in the Arrival hall of KLIA in an attempt to help a Chinese national who was prohibited entry into Malaysia.
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Tiong said he had personally stepped in to help an employee of a China-based media company after Immigration officers held her up at the airport on the basis that a Not to Land (NTL) order, denying entry into the country, had been issued.
In his written reply, Saifuddin also reiterated that NTL orders can only be issued by senior officers of Grade 41 and above.
