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THE nation was shocked when 39 Immigration Department officials were arrested for operating a union that provided “sealing services” to aliens and illegal immigrants.
Addressing this serious integrity issue, the department’s CEO, Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud, shares how technology will help his zero tolerance stance on corruption to reduce and eventually eliminate opportunities for abuse of power.
> How did you discover the rebel officers?
When I entered the department last year, I was intrigued by how some junior officers were
living a lifestyle that didn’t exactly match their pay packages.
These officers would go on vacation abroad to destinations such as New Zealand and London. Some owned flashy superbikes and cars. Some lived in residential areas beyond their affordability. This made no sense as they were earning less than RM4,000 a month.
A team was created to gather information and build a case against the officers we identified. It took us about eight months to gather enough information.
Once we had enough, we entered the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). While we can arrest our own officers for wrongdoing, MACC’s involvement added credibility to the case.
> The MACC has praised him for his role, saying that getting department heads to cooperate to act against corruption is difficult. Your comment?
When I took office, one of the first things I did was talk to my men. I spoke of the responsibility entrusted to us and the important role we play in protecting the country.
We need to be patriotic in our work handling immigration and foreign affairs because the security of the country is in our hands.
While I assured them that I will do what I can to ensure their well-being, I told them that there would be no compromise if the integrity of the department was at stake.
> What are some of the concerns you have for the welfare of your officers?
Housing is a problem and we have been asking for more allocations to overcome this problem by building more housing for immigration staff. My minister (Interior Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin) is concerned about this and wants it to be resolved.
We also fought for our officers to receive the special monthly allowance of RM200 for Covid-19 vanguards.
In terms of promotion, previously, the highest position for immigration personnel in the “KP” scheme was the KP52 grade. We asked the Department of Public Services (PSD) to upgrade to grade KP54. Alhamdulillah, it was approved.
And we have also secured several flexible positions for grades KP52 and KP48. Before, these positions were only intended for PTD officials (administrative and diplomatic), but we convinced the PSD to make it flexible, which means that they can be filled by PTD officials or by those of the immigration service. More is in the pipeline to improve the service scheme.
> The participation of immigration officers in the union shocked the public, even being a source of ridicule. What would you say to the public?
I’m very disappointed. Not only did they tarnish the department’s reputation, they betrayed the country.
I have told my officers over and over again that their role as immigration officers is a patriotic duty and must be performed honestly.
Yes, there are some bad apples but, with that said, there are still plenty of good men and women among the other 14,890 staff members.
I hope the public can see beyond the actions of these few and see the good, committed and dedicated service of the rest of the team.
> Can corruption and abuse of power really be overcome?
One thing we have learned from the Covid-19 pandemic is that we must break the chain of infection. In this case, we can break the chain of illegal practices using technology.
We will continue to instill good values through seminars, integrity programs and religious talks, but I believe that these programs are no longer sufficient to address integrity issues. We are facing a new generation of officials.
One of the axes of the organization’s anti-corruption plan is the adoption of technology in our fight against corruption.
> How can technology end the abuse of power?
We have developed several online services, including an online dating system. With this system in place, we have eliminated the process of having to queue for numbers. You know, in the past, there were officers who sold these tail numbers? The online dating system has eliminated an area of possible abuse of power.
We have also introduced electronic payment facilities for our services. Only in extreme cases will we allow payments to be made in cash. By doing this, there will no longer be incidents of “kehilangan wang awam” (loss of public money) when a certain amount of cash is lost or disregarded. There is no more of that.
We will also help realize significant savings in public funds when the services of security companies are no longer required to send cash collections to banks due to our electronic payment policy only.
Additionally, by introducing MyTravelPass (a one-stop-shop system for managing entry and exit requests) we have been able to reduce the discretionary power of immigration officers, thus closing another possible avenue of abuse of power.
I must say that my IT team has been very efficient in creating new systems online. They are very dedicated and have risen to the challenge.
> How will the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISE) help when it is implemented?
When the system is up and running, there will be no more manual passport stamps. Old practices like this will be eliminated. No one can boast of offering “stamping services”.
If a passport holder has immigration stamps after the system is in place, we will know immediately that something is not right.
Passports will be scanned and the information will enter the system, which will recognize the passport holder through identification. The stamping will be replaced by digital printing of social visiting passes in passports.
If a Mr Smith from the UK returns to Malaysia after his first visit, he does not need to queue for an officer to examine his passport. You can go through the automatic door as the system will recognize you.
The goal is for NIISE to be fully operational by 2023.
> Meanwhile, how do you monitor agents for corruption?
CCTV will be installed at immigration counters, mainly at the KLIA, KLIA2, Johor Baru and Kota Kinabalu entry points. In this way we can monitor the work of our staff.
In the “Ops Selat” case, there were reports that the agents involved had “acted” as if they had stamped passports belonging to foreigners, but did not actually do so. With the cameras there, we can immediately detect any discrepancies in the counters.
We will also intensify spot checks to ensure duty officers are following the “no cell phone” policy. Regulation dictates that officers cannot carry mobile phones while on duty. We discovered that while they leave their phones with the supervisor, the union members would have a secret one that they use to organize “scenarios” or deals with foreigners and illegal immigrants.
> Immigration and health authorities were the first to face the Covid-19 pandemic. What initial challenges did the Immigration Department face?
At some point in December 2019, he was cycling with friends when he received a call from the National Disaster Management Agency, requesting that he attend a meeting on a coronavirus, chaired by the then deputy prime minister. This was the first official meeting on the pandemic.
The outbreak, which started in Wuhan, China, had spread to other countries: Japan, South Korea and Iran. The government wanted to impose travel restrictions on (people coming to Malaysia from) closed cities in foreign countries.
Then came the challenge: How do we enforce this policy? There were many “what ifs”: what if travelers left “safe” cities but visited closed cities, what if a Chinese citizen with a passport issued in Wuhan claimed to live in another city, what if there is a pass long-term incumbents who live in Malaysia but are stranded in the affected cities and want to return to the country?
To overcome these challenges, we submitted a declaration form. It is a legal document under Immigration Law and visitors must disclose their travel history. If they are caught giving false information or if they withhold information, they can be expelled immediately.
And it worked!
Another challenge was attending daily meetings, even on weekends, and keeping my superiors informed in almost real time about problems at airports, problems with foreign embassies, and problems affecting our people stranded in blockaded cities. . He had to always be alert; fortunately, he had the support of a dedicated team.
> What are the department’s plans for 2021?
On the one hand, we have to implement the recalibration program (for undocumented foreign workers) efficiently. Our goal is for 250,000 illegal immigrants to participate in the program.
We will also continue our top three approaches to 2020, which had to be postponed due to the pandemic. Their goal is to improve our services through technology, make electronic payment a mandatory payment method, and step up enforcement when the recalibration program ends in June 2021.
We also want to position the department as one of the leading agencies that contribute to economic growth.
We must also study our regulations, identify those that can contribute to corrupt practices and see how they can be relaxed without affecting the security of the country. For example, we have ruled that foreigners who stayed beyond January to December 31, 2020 due to the pandemic do not need to obtain an exit pass to leave the country. This helps prevent potential abuses of power or corruption, as there is no need to “deal” or “negotiate” with our officers.
Relaxing immigration procedures, without compromising the security of the country, is something we want to explore.
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