Foreign nationals from 46 countries are allowed to use the automatic gate system ( autogate ) at all entrances to Malaysia from June 1.
Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution said, that number is in addition to the 10 countries that were allowed to do so last year.
According to him, among the countries included in the list are 26 countries from the European Union and countries from Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman and Qatar.
"Without compromising security elements, this step will allow us to facilitate the flow of tourists past our immigration area.
"One more thing, we also give this autogate facility to all diplomatic staff working in Malaysia including family members.
"So, the Immigration Department, KDN will discuss with Wisma Putra to help get details of diplomats and family members who are on duty in Malaysia," he said.
He added that through autogate , the details of all foreigners, including their faces, are also recorded in the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) data, but the method is slightly different.
Saifuddin Nasution explained that the effort was to reduce congestion especially at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and the Johor Embankment CIQ Complex.
"I found, from 1 January 2023 to the first quarter of this year, up to 40 million immigration records, 30.5 million of which are from KLIA and Johor.
"If these two things are completed, we will be able to solve most of the congestion problems. We have 141 entrances, if we solve them in Johor, KLIA and KLIA2, three quarters of the problem can be solved.
"Hopefully when it is implemented, it can reduce the problem of congestion," he said.
He said this at a press conference after attending the National Registration Department's 2023 Excellent Service Award Ceremony (APC) in Putrajaya on Thursday.
In the meantime, Saifuddin Nasution said, following the announcement, the ministry proposed to increase the number of autogate facilities at all entrances to the country.
According to him, next year Malaysia will be the Chairman of ASEAN and ministerial level meetings and government officials from other countries will often take place in this country.
He explained that the initiative is an initial step to facilitate the affairs of foreign leaders and diplomats, including tourists to enter Malaysia.
"When we announce the use of autogate , we will follow up by increasing the number. For now, we have 54, ' inbound ' and ' outbound ' for KLIA1 and KLIA2.
"So we intend to add another 40 pieces, so 94 pieces. That is also among our discussions.
"The addition of autogates to 94, the increase in the number of tourists from 46 countries increased, including from diplomats, I am sure that will provide a good change to manage our entrance issues," he said.
