PUTRAJAYA: Newly appointed Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said he will focus on integrity issues among the staff to overcome abuse of power in the department.
Speaking at his first media conference yesterday after his appointment on March 22, Ruslin emphasised the importance of all officers, particularly those in the enforcement division, to strictly adhere to the rules and laws governing their work.
"It would not be fair for me to point fingers at all the Immigration officers when it is just a fraction of them whom I consider 'naughty'.
"But if there is a clear act of refusal to obey orders, I will not hesitate to take stern action not only against the rank and file but also the top management," he said.
Meanwhile, Ruslin said the department was giving its full cooperation to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in connection with the investigation involving its enforcement officers suspected of being involved in a smuggling syndicate of foreign migrants from the Philippines to the Peninsula.
He said the department will not compromise if the officers concerned are found guilty and will leave it to the MACC to investigate.
"We will take stern action including dismissal if they are found guilty after going through the due process of law," he said.
The media had earlier reported that five Immigration officers were among nine individuals remanded for six days to assist in the investigation of a syndicate to smuggle illegal immigrants through the Tawau Airport in Sabah.
They were alleged to have accepted bribes between RM100 and RM3,000 for every illegal immigrant from the syndicate as an inducement to release the immigrants using someone else's MyKad. — BERNAMA