KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 365 foreign visitors were issued Not to Land (NTL) notices by the Immigration Department of Malaysia (JIM) during the technical failure and systems disruption at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) last August.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman said the Immigration Department had stepped up all control measures during the total airport management system (TAMS) breakdown and had ensured that the country’s entry points were not compromised for the sake of national security.
“The Home Ministry (KDN) and JIM made sure that security aspects were not compromised and all entry points were constantly monitored during the disruption at the KLIA and KLIA2 last August,“ he said during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.
Mohd Azis said this in reply to Datuk Noraini Ahmad (BN-Parit Sulong) in relation to statistics on foreign tourist entry into the country during the incident.
Mohd Azis said according to Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) records, 368,042 foreign visitors arrived at KLIA and KLIA2 from Aug 21 to 25, while 347,981 foreign visitors departed via the two airports during the period. TAMS breakdown was reported during that time.
The TAMS failure affected key functions such as WiFi connectivity, flight information display system, check-in counter and luggage handling systems.
Meanwhile, Mohd Azis said claims that the government facilitated the granting of citizenship status to tourists from China and Hong Kong were untrue.
“Let me emphasize that Malaysian citizenship is the highest award to a deserving applicant and granting this award is the exclusive right of the Federal government,“ he said in reply to a question from Awang Hashim (PAS-Pendang) on the matter. — Bernama
