Another off-topic posting.<\/p>\n
Ask around your friends, relatives, anyone – what is the perception of corruption in the government departments? Will you be surprised with the reply you get? This is the perception (not necessarily the truth) that people have. Immigration, Road Transport (JPJ), Customs, Police, and even the ACA themselves are viewed with a suspicious eye.<\/p>\n
The recent arrest<\/a> of top two Immigration officers plus another 20 or so people<\/a> had caught the interest of the nation. Why now? From what I heard, it started with the many stranded Bangladeshi workers in Bangladesh itself who can’t enter the country because the “calling visa” were not issue over here. The reason is because the previous minister (Syed Radzi) is not around anymore (it seems he had authority to issue approval via computerized system) and had been replaced by new minister (Syed Hamid Albar),\u00a0 after the general elections . Suffice to say that the responsibility of approving these visas were passed around until someone agreed to handle it. In the meantime, the agents and businessmen were stuck because they had taken payment from Bangladeshi counterparts and the workers were not able to come in. (The role of previous minister, government officers etc. is not covered here, but you guys are welcomed to ask any agents or runners that deal with Immigration dept. They have many many stories to tell, without giving proof of course.)<\/p>\n Secondly, when tourists from China were caught with 6 months visa extension during raids in Penang, few months back, the authorities were baffled with the original stamping in the passports. This triggered investigations, and the result is what we read in papers. I saw that Chinese paper splashed photos of the DG and his deputy, while some like NST blurred the pictures.<\/p>\n As of today, I heard that investigation have been expanded to the “pembantu rumah” (domestic help” section and ACA is all over the house of the directors and in HQ. I hope that the ACA is able to track back into the last 10 years, and not just focus on current officers.<\/p>\n I think just by interviewing the runners and agents, ACA can probably arrest a big number of Immigration staff. Just send some guys as undercover for few months to built up the case. If even public like us can get some much information and end up frightened with the size of corruption from the counter services right up to the top person, surely the ACA can do better.<\/p>\n I got this all this information from a guy who is an agent that deals with foreign worker employment. Was talking to him casually today. He had no reason to lie, but maybe he heard the stories from other agents or officers. Not sure how true it is, but “charges” for a calling visa approval is RM350\/worker. Renewal of visa application (valid for 4 months) is about RM200.<\/p>\n How can graft be overcome? One way is to automate processes, integrate with systems from other departments\/agencies and reduce human intervention. There should be minimal approval power in hands of individuals.<\/p>\n