KUCHING: A more vigilant approach must be taken at Kuching International Airport (KIA) to prevent foreigners from entering the state illegally.
In making the call, Assistant Minister for Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, suggested that a proper signage and barriers to be put between the arrival halls of international and the domestic flights.
“Looking at the huge number of foreigners attempting to enter the state using domestic and international boarding passes, the state Immigration Department must always be on the lookout to ensure that they (foreigners) could not ‘beat the system’.
“Proper signage and barriers must be put in place so that passengers from international flights would not enter using the domestic arrival hall,” Abdul Karim, who is also Assistant Minister for Housing, said when contacted yesterday.
He was responding to the news about an attempt by 40 foreigners, who were in possession of both domestic and international flight boarding passes, to enter the state illegally, but it was foiled by Immigration Department.
Abdul Karim said there seemed to be some ‘relaxation’ at the domestic arrival hall.
“At times I saw no officer in attendance…or even if there were, no attempt was being made to check whether those (passengers) passing that route (domestic arrival) were genuinely domestic travellers.
“Such attitude would make it easy for foreigners to enter the state illegally,” he pointed out.
Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali, at a press conference on Thursday, said he believed that syndicates were behind the attempts to bring these foreigners in illegally, and he was worried that they might come in for other purposes. -The Borneo Post
Abdul Karim said there seemed to be some ‘relaxation’ at the domestic arrival hall.
“At times I saw no officer in attendance…or even if there were, no attempt was being made to check whether those (passengers) passing that route (domestic arrival) were genuinely domestic travellers.
“Such attitude would make it easy for foreigners to enter the state illegally,” he pointed out.
Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali, at a press conference on Thursday, said he believed that syndicates were behind the attempts to bring these foreigners in illegally, and he was worried that they might come in for other purposes. -The Borneo Post
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