That was precisely what happened when Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim made a so-called “surprise visit” to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Sunday (July 2), just a few days after the airport attracted world attention with a corruption scandal involving Immigration Department of Malaysia. The problem with such spot check is that everyone could smell the PM miles away.

Arriving with a battalion of bodyguards, top officers and apple polishers, it was hilarious when Anwar concluded that there were only a few bad apples in the notorious immigration known for corruption. It was basically sales talk when he said the majority of immigration officers perform their duties well. Did he really expect the officers would dare go for “coffee break” knowing he was doing a spot check?

If PM Anwar seriously wanted to do a spot check, he should have learned from Transport Minister Anthony Loke, who frequently goes incognito as he takes the train like ordinary people during peak hours to assess the transportation services. Going undercover is the best way to get the real picture of problems on the ground, not accompanied by an entourage of police and government officers.

The prime minister most likely will not go to the KLIA to inspect the customs and immigration operations if not for the warning from Beijing. On Saturday (July 1), the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia issued a warning – “The Chinese Embassy in Malaysia attaches great importance and makes every effort to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in Malaysia.”

The warning came after a corruption scandal exploded when Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing received a call for help from a staff member of the Consulate General of Malaysia in Guangzhou. He rushed to KLIA’s Terminal 1 on Thursday (June 29) in an attempt to help a traveller from China, but was politicized as a minister who abused his authority to rescue a Chinese national.

The corruption scandal was exposed after a senior official of a Chinese government-owned TV station had arrived in Malaysia to pursue her PhD at a local university in Shah Alam and her personal assistant had accompanied her. However, while the senior official was allowed entry, her personal assistant was told there were discrepancies in her travel documents hence was detained.

It was a standard modus operandi by the Immigration Department to solicit money from foreign travellers. In order to gain entry, a “three-star” ranking immigration officer demanded RM3,000 bribes from the Chinese woman. Stunningly, the female tourist was also asked an additional RM3,000 if she wanted to return to the country of origin or re-enter Malaysia using a “special lane”, and RM12,000 for visa-processing fees.

Essentially, she needs to pay a whopping RM18,000 to gain entry into Malaysia as well as to return to China, without which she could be detained indefinitely – an intimidation and bullying tactic. Not only corruption has been committed, the cellphones of the women were seized by the immigration officers. Minister Tiong said – “What powers do they have to seize their phones?”

Yes, the corruption involving the immigration was not confined to several bad apples, as Anwar trumpeted in an obvious effort to protect the corrupt institution. The very fact that the Chinese traveller was deliberately not cleared for entry at the immigration counter, despite all her travel documents were in order, suggests that even the lowest ranking officers were involved – all the way to the top.

The best part is after the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) grilled Minister Tiong along the two Chinese nationals, the graft busters said it is hunting for an agent or “middleman”. Suddenly, a middleman has been accused of soliciting bribes to facilitate entries of foreign tourists who violated conditions set by the Malaysian Immigration Department.

MACC Chief Commissioner Azam Baki should stop insulting people’s intelligence. The anti-corruption agency talked as if the airport immigration is like PUSPAKOM, where “runners” are busy offering services such as road-tax or driving-license renewals to illiterate people or foreigners unable to communicate in the local language in exchange for a small amount of fee.

But is the imaginary “middleman” the same “three-star” ranking immigration officer who had demanded the bribes from the Chinese woman? More importantly, how could a middleman, presumably an outsider, be allowed to operate not only in the jurisdiction of government officers, but also given the authorization to “kautim” (settle) on behalf of the immigration department?