The Malaysian Insight

PUTRAJAYA’S new policy bars Israelis from entering Malaysia to attend events organised by global organisations, said Deputy Home Minister Mohd Azis Jamman.

He said between 2016 and this year, 105 Israelis were allowed to enter the country to take part in international programmes and on work visits, where they attended meetings hosted by multinational firms and provided technical training to staff.

For each year in the 2016-2018 period, an average of 30 Israelis entered Malaysia for the said purposes, he said.

“This year, only three were allowed to enter, for trade and business purposes.

“Malaysia no longer grants permission to Israeli citizens to enter the country for international events,” he told the Dewan Rakyat during question time today.

Azis was replying to Ahmad Marzuk Shaary (Pengkalan Chepa-PAS), who wanted to know the number of Israelis who had entered Malaysia and the purpose of their visit.

Malaysia does not recognise Israel as a sovereign state, and has no diplomatic ties with the country. Travel between the countries is prohibited, unless a special permit is granted.

In January, the government barred an Israeli team from entering Malaysia take part in the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in Kuching, which was scheduled to take place from July 29 to August 4.

The International Paralympic Committee then stripped Malaysia of the right to host the event.

In a supplementary question, Marzuk said Anwar Ibrahim, while in the opposition, had alleged that an “Israeli agent” was in the police server room.

The MP asked whether there was truth to the claim.

Azis said the Israeli in question was an engineer working with a Singapore-based company that provided technical services to the police force, and was tasked with maintaining the system used by police and providing training.

“He was not an agent, but an engineer.”

He took a question from Lim Lip Eng (Kepong-PH), who asked about requirements for the “Not to Land” status that bars certain foreigners from entering Malaysia.

Azis said foreigners are barred entry if their passports are not recognised by the country, or if they have no valid travel documents or are found to be in possession of fake, damaged or suspicious documents.

“Those who require a visa to enter Malaysia but fail to obtain a visa, or fail to prove their purpose for entering the country and have no return ticket, will also be barred entry.

“Those from countries with no diplomatic ties with Malaysia will be barred, like Israeli citizens,” he said, adding that law enforcement authorities have the power to deny entry to foreigners if they have sufficient reasons to do so.

From 2015 to February this year, Indonesians comprised the largest group of foreigners prevented from entering Malaysia, he said.

Lim, in a supplementary question, asked for an explanation as to why some genuine visitors, like those from China, have been barred entry.

“Some were refused entry because they have a record of overstaying. After being deported, they come back again. This is why they are barred,” said Azis.

He said such cases made up only 0.3% of the 25.8 million tourists to Malaysia last year.

“The number barred entry last year was 85,946.”

Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman (Kuala Krai-PAS) asked about the government’s efforts to bar foreigners believed to be a threat to the nation.

Azis said the current system enables Putrajaya to keep a record on foreigners who were turned away, including their biometric data.

“Some of these foreigners changed their names after being turned away the first time. Abu can change his name to Ali for his second attempt to enter Malaysia.

“But because of the… data we keep, we can detect and deport them.”

However, he said, there remain many illegal routes that allow foreigners to sneak into the country.

“Police and the Immigration Department are working on blocking these ‘lorong tikus’.” – April 10, 2019.