PETALING JAYA: Plans are underway to identify a new and suitable location for the Selangor Immigration headquarters, says Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh 

This is in line with the high traffic in processing foreign worker-related travel documents, as Selangor had many industries and factories.

"Immigration offices in Selangor handle the highest number of foreign workers related procedures, covering 50% of the total number of foreign worker dealings in all immigration offices nationwide.

"A better and more suitable location to cater to the complexity of work and visitors' traffic is being identified.

"It will be presented soon," he said in a statement in reply to The Star.

On May 21, The Star reported that employers in Selangor, which hosts plenty of industries and factories, were making a mad dash to the Immigration headquarters at Kompleks PKNS Shah Alam to secure permits for their foreign workers.

Bosses who had gone through the process described hectic scenes of rushing to get a number, as any delay would mean other applicants getting ahead of them.

And if they missed out on this, they would have to return early the next day and go through the process once more.

There had also been suggestions for the headquarters to relocate elsewhere more suitable that can accommodate the work and crowd.

Ruslin said crowd control at the Selangor Immigration headquarters coould not be fully controlled, as the premises were shared with other outlets in the shopping complex.

"Every morning, the entrances at the complex are packed with people queuing to enter once PKNS security guards open the doors."

While there were procedures that employers could do online, such as the renewal of the EPLKS pass (temporary work visit pass), the EPAS (employment pass) and the payment for EPLKS, he said other matters would still require employers to be present at the immigration office.

He said the appointment numbers were given based on the optimal capacity of counter operations, system operations and officers on duty daily.

He noted that stricter control for appointment numbers would be put in place.

"The officers will filter and put a mark on the queue number and forms brought by the employers to ensure only genuine employers are served.

"Employers who submit their queue numbers and forms without the mark will be rejected, and their source of the queue number will be investigated," he said.

Ruslin also said the department would probe allegations of scalpers taking advantage of employers making migrant worker applications at the Kompleks PKNS Shah Alam.

"Some employers claimed that strangers approached them and offered to sell them a queue number (that let them move ahead faster).

"We take this allegation seriously. We will investigate and trace the individuals as alleged," he said.

However, Ruslin denied the involvement of immigration officers with the scalpers.

"The queue number is monitored and carefully screened to make sure only genuine employers go to the counters," he added.

He also said the Selangor Immigration Department and Kompleks PKNS would cooperate and increase patrols to ensure no one sneaks into the Immigration Office or Kompleks PKNS at their whims.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/05/27/selangor-immigration-dept-in-midst-of-identifying-new-location-for-headquarters