Staff who punched foreigner in KLIA suspended from duty - Loke

 

PARLIAMENT | The employee who was seen punching a foreigner at KLIA’s “not to land” (NTL) zone has been suspended from duty effective immediately, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

He also said the employee is from AeroDarat Services Sdn Bhd, a company engaged to manage the NTL area.

“I have been informed that the staffer is from AeroDarat. He mentioned there was provocation from a foreigner at NTL resulting in him engaging in a physical altercation (punching the foreigner) and use of profanities.

“Anyway, we cannot defend the staff’s action although there may been cases of foreigners being rude.

“The man had already been suspended and slapped with a show cause letter while awaiting a full investigation from the management,” he said at a press conference in Parliament today.

Earlier, Malaysiakini published a report depicting improper conduct by officials manning the NTL space, including punching a foreigner.

In a three-second video believed to have been taken on Nov 11, an official was seen punching the face of a foreigner for unknown reasons and telling the latter to move to another spot - believed to be a room.

In another clip, which also runs for three seconds, the same official was seen yelling “ingat aku kuli, sial” (do you think I’m your servant) at the foreigners present.

An officer in the NTL area appears to be punching a foreigner in a video

A third clip, which runs for 22 seconds, shows the crowded NTL space - some travellers are even seen seated and lying on the floor.

Airline’s responsibility

For the record, NTL was managed by Mono Circle Sdn Bhd since 2015 but the company is no longer doing so. 

AeroDarat was established on Sept 1, 2015. It was earlier known as MAB Ground Handling Services Sdn Bhd – a subsidiary of Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG).

On that note, Loke affirmed that NTL is also not managed by Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB).

“NTL is not managed by the Immigration Department or MAHB. When immigration denies certain tourists entry into Malaysia, they should be sent back.

“And the responsibility lies with the airline. This is standard global practice and it applies to all international airports,” he added.