Sabah to ensure passports get stamped after 18-day detention of Shanghai tourists
Friday, 03 Jan 20202:54 PM MYT
THE STAR
By KRISTY INUS
KOTA KINABALU: Several remedial measures have been proposed to prevent the recurrence of foreign tourists failing to get their passports stamped on arrival at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA).
Deputy Chief Minister cum state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew said this included the setting-up of a trilingual Tourism Information Counter (Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin) at KKIA to cater to arriving tourists.
In a statement here, Liew said this was to ensure tourists don't exit the airport without having their travel documents stamped, following a recent incident where four Shanghai tourists were detained in Tawau for 18 days until Dec 28,2019.
This was over the offence of failing to get their passports stamped on arrival at KKIA on Dec 4.
Liew said the measures were discussed during a meeting on Thursday (Jan 2) between her ministry and the Sabah Immigration Department.
Both state Immigration director Datuk Dr Muhamad Sade Mohamad Amin and KKIA airport manager Sunif Naiman were present at the meeting.
"The Immigration Department suggested that Departure Gates 2,3, 4,5 and 6 (Level 3-International) be locked when there are no passengers around to prevent tourists from wandering into the area.
"There should also be footprint directional signs to indicate the transition from the International Arrivals area (Level 3) to trans-border section (Level 2) via the Domestic segment area.
"The trans-border section (Level 2) should also be closed temporarily between midnight and 6am when no international flights are coming in to avoid confusion.
"It was also proposed that the Chinese characters on the International Arrivals and Transit signboard be enlarged to make the information more noticeable to travellers," she said in the statement.
Liew said KKIA management will also engage more "Ask Me" Ambassadors (or airport ushers) for strategic placement at the KKIA, Sandakan and Tawau airports.
"Sabah is a brand name in China. Given an anticipated upsurge of tourists from China in view of Visit Malaysia Year 2020 (VMY2020), it is imperative that we recruit more Mandarin-speaking immigration and airport personnel," she added.
Liew said her Ministry, through the Sabah Tourism Board, would conduct simple Mandarin classes for immigration and airport officials.
Dr Muhamad Sade supported the proposal, saying such classes could be held in stages.
He also clarified media reports alleging that the four Chinese tourists were detained along with criminals was untrue.
Muhamad said the group was initially placed at the Temporary Detention Centre in Tawau specifically for those who have committed immigration offences.
On why the four tourists were detained for 18 days, the Immigration director said the immigration offence in question was a non-bailable one, where under Section 41 (1) (C) of the Immigration Act, the department is granted 14 days for investigation.
By KRISTY INUS
KOTA KINABALU: Several remedial measures have been proposed to prevent the recurrence of foreign tourists failing to get their passports stamped on arrival at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA).
Deputy Chief Minister cum state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew said this included the setting-up of a trilingual Tourism Information Counter (Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin) at KKIA to cater to arriving tourists.
In a statement here, Liew said this was to ensure tourists don't exit the airport without having their travel documents stamped, following a recent incident where four Shanghai tourists were detained in Tawau for 18 days until Dec 28,2019.
This was over the offence of failing to get their passports stamped on arrival at KKIA on Dec 4.
Liew said the measures were discussed during a meeting on Thursday (Jan 2) between her ministry and the Sabah Immigration Department.
Both state Immigration director Datuk Dr Muhamad Sade Mohamad Amin and KKIA airport manager Sunif Naiman were present at the meeting.
"The Immigration Department suggested that Departure Gates 2,3, 4,5 and 6 (Level 3-International) be locked when there are no passengers around to prevent tourists from wandering into the area.
"There should also be footprint directional signs to indicate the transition from the International Arrivals area (Level 3) to trans-border section (Level 2) via the Domestic segment area.
"The trans-border section (Level 2) should also be closed temporarily between midnight and 6am when no international flights are coming in to avoid confusion.
"It was also proposed that the Chinese characters on the International Arrivals and Transit signboard be enlarged to make the information more noticeable to travellers," she said in the statement.
Liew said KKIA management will also engage more "Ask Me" Ambassadors (or airport ushers) for strategic placement at the KKIA, Sandakan and Tawau airports.
"Sabah is a brand name in China. Given an anticipated upsurge of tourists from China in view of Visit Malaysia Year 2020 (VMY2020), it is imperative that we recruit more Mandarin-speaking immigration and airport personnel," she added.
Liew said her Ministry, through the Sabah Tourism Board, would conduct simple Mandarin classes for immigration and airport officials.
Dr Muhamad Sade supported the proposal, saying such classes could be held in stages.
He also clarified media reports alleging that the four Chinese tourists were detained along with criminals was untrue.
Muhamad said the group was initially placed at the Temporary Detention Centre in Tawau specifically for those who have committed immigration offences.
On why the four tourists were detained for 18 days, the Immigration director said the immigration offence in question was a non-bailable one, where under Section 41 (1) (C) of the Immigration Act, the department is granted 14 days for investigation.
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