JUST when we thought that we had heard the last of syndicates involving Immigration officers, another be comes today's news.
This time, it is a medical visa syndicate, which is said to have been operating for sometime now.
When it comes to syndicates, "sometime now" is a common refrain. The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) on Monday confirmed it had summoned 10 Immigration officers, including an assistant director from the Security and Passport Division, as part of the medical visa scandal probe.
The media have been reporting about the probe since October following the seizure of 156 files from Immigration.
On Nov 7, a portal reported that EAIC had summoned a state tourism executive committee member to provide testimony related to the syndicate.
The plot thickens, as they say. Will scandals like this ever end? We sure hope so for the security of the nation.
It would be unfair to underplay the efforts of the Immigration Department's directors-general in weeding out corruption and integrity issues. But these come and go, while corruption and integrity issues continue unabated.
Call it a new man, old problem story. We often hear the authorities tell us that this or that syndicate has been crippled, only to witness the eruption of corruption among Immigration officers making the headlines.
Only one conclusion can be drawn: corruption and integrity issues have taken root. Trimming the leaves and branches won't do. The tree needs to be cut down to save the forest.
A 2016 corrupt Immigration officer story reported by this newspaper tells us why a whole-of-department cure is needed.
The KP 19 grade officer not only had a criminal record for vehicle theft, but was also a member of a vehicle theft syndicate. If this wasn't enough, he was a member of a secret society.
How did the civil service recruitment process miss this? He didn't become a criminal after joining the service; he was already one before recruitment.
He only got found out when the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission uncovered an international migrant smuggling syndicate run by Immigration officers.
Syndicate run by Immigration officers? And that, too, by one with a criminal record? Investigators were baffled. And so were we. Do not go rushing to say that the car-thief-turned-Immigration officer story is a 2016 one. Yes, it was.
But it gets repeated every now and then. Let's not forget, the medical visa syndicate is a "now story", though a developing one.
To be blunt, the Immigration Department needs to be re engineered. The time is now, what with the government's announcement of salary scale upgrades. Better pay is due to those who deserve it.
As for the undeserving, they shouldn't even be there. The Immigration Department must shut the door to these people.
For those undeserving — especially the corrupt — who are already in, they must be shown the door.
Accountability is not the only cure, but it is the most effective. It can't be denied that Immigration needs to work harder on building public trust.
One lever it can pull to ensure that this happens is accountability.
Like justice, accountability must not only be done, but it must be seen to be done. Show and tell will certainly help.