THE Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) stated that there is no evidence of bribery in the recent commotion at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) involving a minister and two Chinese nationals.
The conclusion is that there was a misunderstanding between the tourists and an agent they contacted for assistance after receiving a Not-To-Land (NTL) notice.
The MACC’s initial investigations revealed that no payments were made by the individuals who were denied entry by the Immigration Department.
It also noted communication issues led to a misinterpretation that bribery was involved leading to the intervention by the Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Datuk Tiong King Sing.
He suggested that there was an attempt at corruption, causing a commotion at KLIA.
Nevertheless, netizens are now up in arms against the conclusion of the investigation led by the MACC.
A Twitter user @fkl5258 said the damage is done and the perception of Malaysia is now lower.
Damages is there already. Perception of Malaysia is lower now. You may refer to Taiwan TV station and China TV station. They all said Malaysia Gate is not clean.
— fkl5258 (@fkl5258) July 8, 2023
Meanwhile, user @iamdanielwang made an important observation about the absence of ‘translators’ at the precise moment when the incident occurred.
Immigration purposely did not use the service of the translator so that this could be their escape route in case incidences like this happen… Go to Bangladesh and simply ask how clean the immigration here are and you will get an encyclopedia of their abuse
— Daniel Wang (@iamdanielwang) July 8, 2023
However, user @caoloc was more direct in the criticism of the end of this saga.
This is their way to say cannot find strong enough evidence to fight a court case
Bottom line is corruption is not easy to fight
— Caoloc (@caoloc) July 8, 2023
Furthermore, user @jacobt_jr had this to say: “Nothing paid does not mean outrageous payment was not requested. Was the “agent” questioned? Anyway, this update was from a source & not the official statement.”
Nothing paid does not mean outrageous payment was not requested. Was the “agent” questioned? Anyway, this update was from a source & not the official statement.
— JTJ (@jacobt_jr) July 8, 2023
The incident went viral to the point that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim visited the KLIA. It was a surprise visit after which he acknowledged there are some corrupt agents within some related departments. – July 8, 2023
