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PETALING JAYA: The National Association of Patriots (Patriota) has expressed disbelief that the illegal activities perpetrated by so many immigration officers, who were recently arrested, have gone unnoticed by their superiors.
Patriot Chairman Mohamed Arshad Raji called the arrests a cause for concern and said it also showed that all was not well within the Immigration Department.
“The large number of arrests is an indication of the inherent weakness in the management, operation and control of the Immigration Department.
“It is incredible that so many recalcitrant officers have been allowed to carry out their illegal activities for so long without their superiors noticing, unless the superiors themselves are part of the illegal activity,” Arshad said in a statement today.
He added that the arrests were also poorly reflected on the department’s leadership, as they had to know that their work required strict adherence to departmental rules and procedures.
Arshad was referring to the recent arrest of 50 people by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), including 28 immigration officers, who were part of a union.
The union, which had been active for the past year, catered to employers of foreign workers who wanted their workers to stay here or return home.
They are believed to have operated from the country’s main gateways, including KLIA, klia2, and Sultan Ismail’s Customs, Immigration and Quarantine building.
They had been detained as part of a joint MACC and immigration sting operation called “Ops Selat.” More than RM 800,000 in cash, 26 luxury cars and four high-powered motorcycles were seized.
Arshad called for the Department of Immigration and the Department of National Registration (JPN) to be the subject of increased scrutiny by relevant government security and investigation agencies, citing a case involving JPN reported last year.
“In September 2019, the country was rocked by the arrest of 20 JPN officers in Penang for selling Malaysian identification documents to foreigners for fees ranging from RM100,000 to RM600,000.
“It was reported that the deputy director of the state JPN was involved.
“Little is known about the outcome of the investigation and whether legal charges have been brought against the perpetrators,” he said.
Arshad said the government should consider such illegal activities carried out by officials of the two agencies as tantamount to treason.
“It is paramount that the government adopt zero tolerance for such activities in the future.
“That is why Patriot urges the government to undertake a complete renovation of both departments. Department heads must be clearly told that they must accept full responsibility and accountability in the future for any such failure within their departments, ”he said.
