THE cabinet has agreed to establish a help desk with officers fluent in several languages at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to help with communication between travellers and the authorities, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said today.

Saifuddin said the move is part of the ministry’s effort to improve service at the airport and ease travellers’ issues.

“Officers who can communicate in Mandarin, English, Arabic and Tamil would be stationed in the airport soon,” the Home Minister told a press conference today. 

Saifuddin said the matter was brought to the attention of the cabinet today following the recent incident involving a Chinese tourist in KLIA. 

He said the matter was viewed seriously by the cabinet. 

The home minister also said the cabinet had agreed to grant authority to officers of Grade 41 and higher to issue a “Not to Land” (NTL) order to travellers.

Officers holding Grade KP29 and above currently decide on the NTL order, he said. 

Saifuddin said that between January and June 2023, a total of 592,490 tourists from China had entered Malaysia.

Of them, he said only 423 were issued NTL orders.

The changes are being introduced after the incident last week which involved Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing, who is alleged to have barged into the KLIA arrival hall in an attempt to “rescue” a female Chinese national who was denied entry into the country.

The minister then allegedly scolded KLIA auxiliary policemen and Immigration officers while trying to help the Chinese national.

Despite the recent incident, Saifuddin claimed that the commitment, good discipline and cooperation among the majority of Immigration officers at the airport should be commended. 

“If not for them or their commitment, certainly there would have been issues in managing the huge number of arrivals,” he said. 

Yesterday, Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said the police have taken statements from 22 witnesses in connection with the commotion involving the minister at KLIA. 

He said the witnesses comprise 12 Immigration officers, four auxiliary police officers, four members of the public and two employees of a travel company. –  July 5, 2023.