Every minister has a VIP pass to enter prohibited areas at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
Loke’s comments came after Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing had allegedly broken safety protocols when the latter “barged” past the immigration counters in an attempt to “rescue” a Chinese national who had been detained by immigration officials.
Loke (above) clarified that there are no issues of breach of security protocols as ministers were allowed to enter those areas even if they were not boarding a flight.
“Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad had also confirmed that the minister (Tiong) was at the airport and he was accompanied by auxiliary police officers and security personnel from the company when he entered and left.
“As far as the security pass is concerned, there is no issue here as he can access the area.
“I was at the airport yesterday, not to board a flight but for a flight launch. I entered the restricted area like the departure hall and such,” he told reporters after chairing the DAP state committee meeting at the Negeri Sembilan party headquarters today.
On Thursday, online portal BebasNews quoted a source who alleged that a minister had broken safety protocols and barged past the immigration counters to “rescue a tourist”.
Yesterday, Tiong admitted that he was the minister implicated in the KLIA Terminal 1 commotion.
However, he claimed that his presence exposed corruption among officials at the airport.
Tiong clarified that the Chinese national he had defended was actually being detained without a reason given. He said that both the immigration officer involved and the tourist had communication issues.
Elaborating on the matter, Loke said he was unsure of what exactly took place as he was not present with Tiong at that time and there were no CCTV recordings of what transpired.
“This is more of an immigration issue, the Home Ministry will carry out a more detailed investigation and discuss it with cabinet ministers,” he said. - Mkini
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