NILAI: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Immigration Department have yet to formally meet over the counter-setting operations at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
"For now, we are giving the new (Immigration) director-general the opportunity to observe and address the issues concerning the counters at KLIA Terminal 1 and 2," chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said at the graduation ceremony for the MACC Basic Officer Course, Series 28 today.
However, Azam said he has had informal discussions with Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban, who replaced Datuk Ruslin Jusoh in September.
Asked if the graft-busters would take up the suggestion to set up a branch at the international airport terminals, Azam rejected the idea.
"We have set up a unit there for monitoring purposes. There is currently no need to establish a branch since the MACC headquarters and the Selangor office are not far from KLIA," he said.
On Oct 7, Azam said he expected a meeting between the two agencies to take place within the month.
He had said that cooperation between the two agencies was vital to improve the Immigration Department and ensure airport counters were handled satisfactorily.
His comments followed investigations revealing that officers involved in the counter-setting operations at KLIA and KLIA2 had been receiving information from agents via WhatsApp about the arrival of certain foreign nationals.
According to MACC, syndicates had reportedly bribed Immigration officers to allow foreigners, particularly from Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar, to enter the country on tourist visas without following proper protocol.
Counter setting refers to the act of allowing foreigners to enter the country without proper inspection by directing them through designated or predetermined lanes at Immigration entry points.