KLANG – The Israeli man arrested by police with six pistols in his possession at a hotel in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, on Wednesday entered the country with a valid French passport, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said.
The passport was issued legally by the French embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel and allowed the man to provide authentic travel documents at security checks, he said, adding that it proved that there were no weaknesses in enforcement at Malaysia’s entry points as alleged, as the Immigration Act allows any individual to enter the country if they possess legal travel documents, and Malaysia did not have any problems with the country issuing the documents.
“Now there are attempts at spinning the topic, trying to insinuate that our enforcement is lacking, and there are loopholes that allow the individual to enter the country.
“In aspects of the system and the Immigration Act, if the travel documents are valid and we have no diplomatic issues with the country issuing the documents, we will allow entry,” he said at a media conference after inspecting Ops Pagar Laut onboard the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency vessel Tun Fatimah in Selangor waters near here yesterday.
Saifuddin said Malaysian authorities have lists and complete profiles of individuals blacklisted from entering the country and the policy is applied at all entry points into Malaysia.
He stressed that this incident of an individual owning two passports at the same time clearly showed the importance of amending the Federal Constitution regarding nationality that is being undertaken by the government, which aims to ensure national security.
“… when I talk about our constitution not recognising dual citizenship, some human rights activists asked why doesn’t the country allow it now that it’s open… let them carry two passports. Now we can see the reasons why the government wants to tighten the Act,” he said.
On concerns voiced by Yousuf Abuassi, a 28-year-old Palestinian who feared for his safety in the country after being contacted by the Israelis six times, Saifuddin said the police guaranteed every individual’s safety in the country. regardless of their backgrounds. – April 2, 2024