MAHB: We didn't appoint company handling Not-To-Land cases

 

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has reportedly clarified that it did not hire a company to handle travellers issued Not-To-Land (NTL) notices by the Immigration Department at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

Instead, it said it was the KLIA Airline Operators Committee that made the appointment.

The committee comprises 40 airline operators and 26 associates, according to a New Straits Times report today citing a statement from MAHB.

“The handling of Not-To-Land passengers due to various reasons including amongst others, passport validity, visa issue, criminal history, and security concerns falls under the purview of the respective airlines and Immigration Department of Malaysia as specified under International Civil Aviation Organisation’s Annexe 9 and Malaysia’s Immigration Act (Act 155).

“An independent company was appointed by the KLIA Airline Operators Committee to handle passengers at KLIA, a committee consisting of 40 airline operators and 26 associates, and not by MAHB.

“The appointment was agreed and endorsed by the Immigration Department.

“As the airport operator, MAHB has provided a suitable space to facilitate the handling of NTL passengers while they await their return flights,” the airport operator was quoted as saying.

The company was not named in the report.

The issue arose after Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing claimed to have intervened to “rescue” a Chinese tourist detained by the Immigration Department, and that the intervention allegedly uncovered corruption among airport officials.

In the wake of the incident, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the cabinet directed the Transport Ministry to review the process of managing travellers barred from entering by the Immigration Department.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail

According to him, under current arrangements, airline operators appointed the company Monocircle in February 2015 to handle such cases.

This entails booking their return tickets and handling their needs before the flight out of Malaysia, in exchange for payment.

“This might be misconstrued as immigration officers asking them for money.

“But, I do not deny that sometimes certain irresponsible officers may be involved in corrupt practices,” Saifuddin said yesterday.

At a press conference on the same day, however, the MACC said it was investigating an “agent” believed to have ties to a company set up at KLIA.

“The company had been given a contract by MAHB since 2017 to manage travellers who are slapped with Not-To-Land notices,” it said, without naming the company. - Mkini