Immigration Officers: What a tough balancing act

As a sequel to my previous blog entry on the 'unsung heroes' albeit the Immigration Officers, just spend some time on my scribbles below, at least you have some ideas what a tough job it is, what a difficult balancing act they have to perform, they don't deserve all the brickbats aimed at them, yes, it cannot be denied that there exist some bad hats, but those belong to the minority group.Some brief background on the department and the task they have to shoulder.

The Immigration Department of Malaysia is under the Ministry of Home Affairs, which provides services to Malaysian Citizens, Permanent Residents and Foreign Visitors.

The functions of the department are as follows:-

1. Issuing of passports and travel documents to Malaysian Citizens and Permanent Resident.
2. Issuing of visas, pass and permits to Foreign Visitors entering Malaysia.
3. Administering and controlling the entry and exit of people at authorized entry points.
4. Enforcing the Immigration Act 1959/63, Immigration Regulations 1963 and Passport Act 1966.

(source: The official website of the Malaysian Immigration Department)

We will start from the top, they (the officers) are responsible to issue travel documents, while it is easier said than done, they have to be very careful and cautious in executing this task, only those deserve to be issued documents need to be issued, while those under the refused list due to numerous reasons (ex: bankrupt, criminals,tax evaders etc) would have to be refused, but more often than not, those who are refused will use several platform and channels to show their displeasure, especially political channel.

As for the second function, only genuine Foreign Visitors need to be entertained, it is not a right but a privilege, again the officers would come under undue pressure from many quarters, jabbed left and right from various organization, they cannot be too strict neither they can be lax.

The same problems are faced while administering function number three and number four, and again more often than not, their decisions will be overruled by PTD officers who normally act out of self interest.Now you tell me, isn't it an arduous task, almost impossible balancing act? Doesn't it sounds like head they lose, tail they don't win?

My prayers for them, and my wish like I mentioned earlier is for the department to become a fully closed department one day...GOD willing.....till then GOD have mercy and help them

To all the Immigration brave souls out there.....be strong....Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri...ciao....a.h.baharom