Immigration Dept Says Indian Travellers Were Detained As They Were Seen Loitering In KLIA
Investigations found that the Indian travellers were seeking employment illegally as they did not have a place to stay and had limited pocket money.
By Ivyna Ong — 09 Aug 2022, 07:19 PM
The Indian nationals who were detained at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) were said to be loitering after landing, said the Immigration Department
It was alleged in a viral video that the travellers were being mistreated and disrespected because they were seen sitting on the floor for an "unnecessarily long time".
A woman in the video referred to the Indian nationals as tourists.
Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud has denied allegations, saying what was claimed in the video was false, reported Free Malaysia Today.
When investigations were conducted, Khairul said that the Indian travellers were seeking employment illegally in Malaysia
According to Bernama, the travellers allegedly did not go to the immigration counter once they landed and were found loitering in the arrival area for almost three hours while others hid in the toilet. These acts raised suspicions amongst the authorities.
Khairul said that the airport immigration would always receive information as to how many people, including foreigners, are onboard a flight, so officers were alerted when the passengers did not turn up.
“But when they did not approach the counter (Immigration) counter after two to three hours, our officers went to look and found them and they were taken to the operation room for investigation,” he told reporters after a meeting between the Immigration Department with tourism agencies at KLIA.
When the Indian travellers were questioned, it was revealed that they were not visiting Malaysia as tourists, but, rather, they were here to seek employment illegally as they did not have a place to stay and had limited pocket money.
These violated the rules of the social visit pass which is issued to foreign nationals who want to stay in Malaysia for a period of longer than six months.
The travellers have since been deported to India and are barred from entering Malaysia
The Indian travellers were also issued a 'Not To Land" (NTL) notice, reported Bernama.
Khairul added that from January 2022 to 8 August, a total of 34,786 nationals have been issued NTL notices.
"And from the total, the countries with the most NTL record involved the citizens of Bangladesh, followed by Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Vietnam," he said.
