YOURSAY | ‘Akmal had a knee-jerk action based on a weak news tabloid.’

KLIA incident: ‘Don’t talk rubbish’, minister chides Umno leader

Man on the Silver Mountain: Instead of finding out what Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing was doing, Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh’s knee-jerk action was reprimanding the minister based weakly on news tabloid gossip.

One wonders why. Why was Akmal (above, middle) defending the errant Immigration Department personnel and not his colleague, the minister, even without concrete facts to support his assertion?

In any case, here is a minister who is not afraid of you. He is a different kind of species. For one, he is a Sarawakian. He has not had the experience of being bullied by Malay supremacists, unlike the situation in the peninsula.

If you abuse him, he will fight back, that’s for sure. He has nothing to lose, and besides, his action no doubt is highly applauded by people who abhor corruption.

Here, you have a minister who fights corruption and lays his reputation on the chopping board to do so.

How we wish that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim could do the same. After all, the clarion call was from him.

As for Umno Youth, defending incompetent civil servants seem to be their forte, and in doing so, perpetuates the culture of corruption, bias, and racism.

Setting aside whether there was actual corruption or not, the fact that the said tourist was detained for the reason of miscommunication, and only fed once in 15 hours, showed how pathetically incompetent the Malaysian Immigration Department was. Why did Akmal not see this?

The lady tourist was obviously innocent since she was finally set free. Akmal should appear more intelligent than his action suggested.

Mazilamani: I am convinced Akmal is self-inviting himself into this fray without knowing or seeking clarification from both parties.

The Tourism Minister has nothing personal to gain or prove by highlighting the ugly going ons, possible abuses, and corrupt practices at the airport. The minister has been a frequent visitor to the airport and it is likely rattling a few nerves.

For the matter to be taken to the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public Service (Cuepacs) by the immigration officers sends out a negative signal about their character and performance.

The minister is a passionate worker, not someone resting on his bottom. Please give him due credit for making Malaysia a preferred destination for tourists without assertive harassment. It has nothing to do with Chinese tourists.

Who is Akmal to instruct the PM to look into this matter?

Steven Ong: Tiong had a valid pass. Now the facts and truths. One works for the country and the other for race and religion, for the over-bloated, incompetent, and corrupt civil servants.

Can a country progress with unfairness, discrimination, and focus on race and religion?

It’s discrimination to pick on tourists who cannot speak the language of the country and attempt to extort those who may have made small mistakes.

It’s like discriminating against children born overseas just because of improper documents by the parents.

Children are innocent human beings sent by God and we should welcome them all, educate them, and take proper care of them so they will serve the country well.

Now we seem to have a lot of incompetent officials who have no knowledge of the economy and what is good and right.

YellowKite4425: Hats off to Tiong for stepping beyond the boundary and doing the right thing as a responsible minister. Waking up to an alert from the Chinese consulate at 3am, how many ministers would do that?

Why worry about the security protocol when there is an ‘emergency’? Mind you, he was with MACC officers. Tiong is a full-fledged minister, attending to an issue of national importance with diplomatic consequences.

You can argue or disagree as much as you like. He would have just slept the whole morning and called up MACC and other authorities by which time whatever transpired would have been fully ‘covered’, leaving no trace of evidence.

Our country must reset our mindset to not only embrace this way of operating but demand that in no uncertain terms. Go for it.

KLIA incident: Saifuddin to decide next move after obtaining full report

Cogito Ergo Sum: Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who is preparing the ‘full report’? The Immigration Department? KLIA officials? Police? MACC? Who?

All of these are directly or indirectly connected to your ministry. And do you think you will get a fair and unbiased ‘full report’? Really! Anything that threatens corrupt civil servants is being pushed under the carpet for fear of losing their support.

Those civil servants prefer Perikatan Nasional because those parties not only tolerate corruption but legitimatise it under the veneer of religion. So, to ensure the support of corrupt civil servants, Pakatan Harapan closes its eyes to such things.

But a Sarawakian minister is not so condescending because he is simply not used to it. It will be difficult for Harapan to retain the states it controls and even the federal government if there is no clear and emphatic signal that corruption is no longer the accepted norm.

PW Cheng: We have a nest of corrupted Malaysian immigration officers, especially those guarding the borders, those in charge of approvals for maids and workers.

These include those who have the slightest opportunity to be corrupted including those from the expat departments and immigration attachés in the Malaysian embassies.

Here we have a DG (director general) newly parachuted into his newfound position, savouring his newfound power and oblivious to all the shenanigans happening. His condescending attitude does not shed any light on the improvement of his department.

It will take a miracle for the Madani government to eliminate corruption in this country. Anwar, please fight the corrupt and fight them hard.

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