UPDATED VERSION. Screenshots was informed that Fatimah Binti Hashim, the Assistant Director of Immigration heading the operations at the Penang International Airport, has been transferred out on a 24-hour notice, effective October 1.

September 28, Screenshots highlighted the late arrival of Immigration officers at their work station that caused the delay for the scheduled passenger flight AK5052 timed for departure at 06.00am.

The blog entry, which called for the head of Immigration at the airport to bear full responsibility for the delay, was picked up and published prominently by Guang Ming Daily the next day. [ Read here and here. ]

The early morning Penang-Hong Kong direct flight on AK5052, which operates on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, is immensely popular since service started on July 31, 2009.

On September 28, a total of 99 passengers and 6 crew members were held up as the Immigration officers did not show up on time to process their passports as late as at boarding time at 05.40am.

The Immigration officers reportedly showed up at 05.55am and the aircraft finally took off at 06.31am, causing unhappiness among the passengers, including foreign travellers.

Defensive state Immi head and factual errors

However, in his haste to react to Guang Ming Daily on the issue, the state Director of Immigration Abdul Rahman Harun (picture below) made several factual errors in his defensive stance.

Immi-Penang_AirAsia_090930.jpgRead his quotes in the Guang Ming story, here.

Revealingly, too, the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) was quoted by Guang Ming as saying that the Immigration Dept’s “not-on-time” work ethics had occurred many times prior to the September 28 incident.

Evidently, Abdul Rahman is a stereotype of the “Deny-and-Blame-It-On-Somebody-Else” syndrome common among the civil servants.

Speaking to Guang Ming reporters, Abdul Rahman denied that his staff were late for duty, and blamed it on AirAsia for a communication breakdown that caused the flight delay.

And he slipped up further by giving the Press the wrong facts.

I don’t think I can take the nonsense from this Immigration chief, and I want to rebuke him point by point.

IMMIGRATION’S CLAIM: Abdul Rahman told Guang Ming that AirAsia had failed to update his office on the low-cost carrier’s flight time for all early morning dpartures.

THE FACT: However, the fact remains that AirAsia’s Penang-Hongkong direct flight AK5052 was designated as a Scheduled Passenger Flight on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday of the week since the service took off two months ago on July 31, 2009. The Immigration Department had been duly notified in black-and-white and no daily notification from the carrier running scheduled flights are required once they are gazetted, and immigration support for all scheduled flights became a standard operating procedure (SOP).

In fact, the four weekly AK5052 flights on 1-3-5-7th days of the week was originally run on the Penang-Macao direct route since it was launched on March 1. However, the slots had since been taken over by the Penang-Hongkong flight to due demand and load factor. AirAsia now runs Penang-Macao on scheduled direct flights on the 2-4-6th days of the week, departing at 06.30am with flight number AK5072. Abdul Rahman being the state Immigration chief can’t plead ignorance over SOP matters.

IMMIGRATION CLAIM: Abdul Rahman claimed that the Immigration Dept at the Penang International Airport was only required to work from 06.00am to 10.00pm daily.

THE FACT: False. The Penang Airport was pronounced an international airport over three decades ago way back in 1977, and it has since grown into Malaysia’s second biggest international airports next to KLIA — running on a 24-hour basis, and in terms of aircraft movements and traveller volume.

For an airport to be ratified as an international airport operating around-the-clock, there must be 24-hour ground support in airspace control, airport management, CIQ services (Customs, Immigration & Quarantine), health services and security. Immigration is no exception as the Penang International Airport also handles cargo flights which normally arrive around 3.00 to 4.00am.

In fact, as the current state government is facilitating for more regional inter-city direct flights into Penang, more aircraft movements at the Penang International Airport are expected soon, and some may arrive and take-off in the wee hours.

Nevertheless, these critical services related to the operations of the international airport are allowed to stand down their staff during the lull hours of the day, with the provisio that they must immediately spring back into their respective work stations when situations like flight diversions occur.

IMMIGRATION CLAIM: Abdul Rahman also blamed that the September 28 delay of flight AK5052 was due to some passengers nabbed for carrying forbidden item.

THE FACT: Let’s call s spade a spade. The Immigration must adhere to its KPIs and not encroach into other authority’s jurisdiction.

The screening of forbidden items carried into the country or into the aircraft has never been the duty of the Immigration officers. For items with unpaid duties, the job belongs to the Royal Customs under the Finance Ministry. Whereas, for forbidden items such as drugs and weapons, the authority belongs to the Airport Security.

Abdul Rahman must be taught his KPIs to adhere to strictly clearing the travel documents of travellers who enter and exit the gazetted sovereign boundaries of the country. Nothing more nothing less.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS… Since the state Immigration chief serving in Penang is not hands-on and proven factually deficient, I will write to his ultimate boss, the Home Affairs Minister, and Najib’s KPI ministers to have his tenure reviewed. This has been reported in Guang Ming Daily today.