Visa on arrival: Malaysia has enough laws to deal with overstaying issue

The implementation of visa on arrival for tourists from China and India this year will not necessarily add to the problem of tourists overstaying in the country, according to Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi.

He said the country has enough laws and regulations to deal with such issues.

"I would not say so, you know. Because we have regulations and laws to deal with it.

"I mean, just like any other countries," he told reporters this morning in response to a question on criticisms against the new policy which allegedly might increase the number of overstaying tourists.

Mohamaddin said this at a press conference during the launch of Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents' (Matta) Visit Malaysia 2020 stickers at the Malaysia Tourism Centre on Jalan Ampang.

According to the minister, with this move, tourists from China and India are expected to increase 10 percent to four million and one million arrivals this year, respectively.

In December, the government gazetted two orders granting 15-day visa exemption for tourists from China and India for Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2020, in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2020.

The gazettes, dated Dec 26, state that the tourists must be registered through an "electronic travel registration and information system".

Following this, the government had been criticised by several quarters for relaxing the visa procedures.

'Decision will backfire on the country'

The latest party to criticise the move was PAS Muslimat wing, which today labelled the decision by Putrajaya as an action that would backfire on the country.

Its information chief Dr Najihatussalehah Ahmad in a statement cited the Auditor-General's Report 2018 (Second Series), which stated that a total of 76,258 tourists from China and 39,806 from India did not have any record of leaving Malaysia between 2016 and 2018.

Najihatussalehah said the large numbers of tourists staying illegally in Malaysia was caused by the government's policy since the BN era, which exempted visa requirement and is now being continued by Pakatan Harapan.

"Besides that, the increase in the presence of foreigners in the country will also cause an increase in crime rates. In October, the police arrested 80 Chinese nationals who were involved in a Macau scam syndicate, and on Dec 3, seven Chinese nationals were also arrested for the same reason.

"There were also cases of counterfeit identity cards involving Chinese and Indian nationals," she said.

Najihatussalehah called on the government to retract the visa exemption decision, saying that the country's economic prospects do not depend on the increase of tourists alone.

"There is no reason for the government to continue this, unless there is another interest in flooding Chinese tourists to Malaysia," she added. - Mkini