Discrepancies in Immigration Travel Portal Due to Updates, Says DG

KUALA LUMPUR, June 13— The Malaysian Immigration Department has stressed that the differences between the English and Malay forms of its online travel status portal are due to the English version being updated all the time.

Immigration Director-General Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said in a statement that he understood the confusion among the public and that the department is now doing a technical check to make sure that both language versions are correct and consistent.

Social media concerns prompted him to announce, “We are currently updating the English portal and have temporarily taken it offline for maintenance.”

This comes after a Facebook post by activist and political artist Fahmi Reza, in which he pointed out that his trip status wasn’t matching up on both versions of the portal. The English site said there were no travel limits, but the Malay site told him to call the nearest immigration office.

Fahmi Reza’s KLIA Mishap
Immigration officers stopped Fahmi at KLIA Terminal 2 on June 6 as he attempted to fly to Singapore for a punk rock event. Fahmi Reza is known for creating art that features political satire. He said that a police officer told him that Bukit Aman police had told them he couldn’t fly.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain later said that Fahmi was not banned from traveling and that the event was caused by a “misunderstanding at the border checkpoint.”

The head of immigration stated that Fahmi did not have any restrictions on his ability to travel to other countries.

Sabah’s entry ban is still in place.
Despite the clear instructions, officials in Sabah continue to impose restrictions on entry.

On May 29, officials prevented Fahmi from entering Sabah and returned him to Kuala Lumpur. The ruling was based on Section 65(1)(a) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, according to a notice from the Sabah Immigration Department at Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

Fahmi was also held by Sabah police earlier this year and was being looked into under the Sedition Act because of a satirical piece of art that was said to insult the monarchy.