Malaysia’s airport operator needs to buck up to safeguard country’s reputation

 

WITH an average of 15 million tourists flocking to Malaysia every year between pre-Covid pandemic 2019 and last year, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has to buck up or the country could risk losing its lustre as a tourist attraction.

The Bangkok Post reported that Thailand received a total of 28 million tourist arrivals last year, nearly double that of Malaysia’s own arrival of international tourists.

Malaysia has a lot to catch up and to stay on top as one of ASEAN’s favourite destinations for international tourists, especially the country’s main gateways managed by MAHB

The airport operator has to be efficient in handling the increase in tourist arrivals at both the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.

Although MAHB’s website claims that it has “come a long way since its incorporation in 1992 when it was corporatised as Malaysia Airports Bhd from its previous standing as a state-run airport operator,” it is far from the truth that the MAHB is “worldclass.”

The police have stepped up patrol at KLIA following the shooting incident at the arrival hall of KLIA Terminal I on April 14 (Image credit: Bernama)

Based on the way it operates the airports, anyone who has travelled to other countries would agree that 55 minutes for immigrations clearance at klia2, for example, is unacceptable.

News about an hour’s wait on average should not shock anyone as recently this writer’s own relative who has just returned from Singapore after a brief holiday complained of the long queue.

“I do not even see the autogate system,” he complained. “In Singapore, it only took about 15 minutes to go through the checkpoint with their autogates.”

The MAHB senior management should immediately look at how to boost the efficiency at immigrations checkpoint of KLIA Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 by addressing the shortage of immigration officers at the counters.

If there are not enough immigration officers, they should write to both the immigration chief as well as the Home Minister. MAHB should not wait for a minister to intervene but to monitor closely the queues.

After checking out, tourists especially those from countries like Bangladesh have to face other issues. Recently, The Star reported that touts are impersonating as immigration officers and extorting money from gullible and unsuspecting travellers.

Long immigration lines and luggage waiting times have somehow become synonymous with KLIA (Image credit: Bernama)

Such stories affecting international tourists when reported in the local media in their countries of origin will cause a lot of damage to Malaysia’s reputation.

MAHB’s acting group CEO Mohamed Rastam Shahrom should go down to the ground to solve the problem just like the way current Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi is doing at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine centre in Johor Baru.

If he is unable to perform, a new person should be appointed to replace him. The important thing is that MAHB must not fail Malaysians whose livelihood depends on tourism dollars.

A netizen from Perak recently told FocusM that he was shocked when he read the news of an attempted assassination of a local woman by her former husband, 38-year-old Hafizul Harawi, took place at KLIA on April 14.

Another netizen urged MAHB to do something about the situation. “Security at the KLIA is in a mess,” he said, preferring to remain anonymous. “This is where both assassins and touts can operate freely.”

The netizen suggested that MAHB should “hire more security personnel to monitor airports such as the KLIA as they are key points of entry”. After all, MAHB should not be solely dependent on the police and immigration to carry out its job.

At the end of the day, MAHB should not just focus on its profitability. “Airport taxes are going up sharply from June 1,” he pointed out. “Why are we paying more for shoddy security?” – Focus Malaysia