Long-term Visa For Spouses Of Malaysians Stays

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), March 21 (Bernama) -- The government will not scrap the regulation regarding the issuance of long-term visa for spouses of Malaysians, Chief Secretary to the Malaysia Government Mohd Sidek Hassan said. He said that stern action should instead be taken against those found to have misused such visa owing to a "loophole" in the regulation which meant to cut red tape. Last Friday, an English tabloid reported that a "visa loophole" had allow syndicates to bring in foreign women to work as guest relations officers and sex workers when they enter into bogus marriage with local men to secure a permit for long-term stays. Mohd Sidek said: "We can't be scrapping something just because only 90 per cent is right and 10 per cent is wrong. Let's tackle the 10 per cent...and if there are those who flouted the regulation, then let's act on them." "I leave it to the wisdom of the Immigration Department and the related agencies but we should think, philosophically, whether scrapping (a regulation) is the solution to all problems," he told reporters after the Chief Secretary Annual Lecture Series: "The Fifth Estate - A Space for Academia?" at Putrajaya International Conference Centre (PICC) here Wednesday. The lecture series, organised by the Razak School of Government, is a platform for the broader public to interact with senior officials of the public sector. Mohd Sidek said the regulation was a collective decision between the Special Task Force to Facilitate Business (Pemudah), the Home Ministry and the Immigration Department. He added that the issuance of long-term visa to spouses of Malaysians was to ensure they would not face difficulties in entering the country. The regulation, which directs the Immigration Department to issue passes for up to five years straight to spouses of Malaysians, came into effect following a Pemudah meeting chaired by Mohd Sidek on April 10, 2010. Prior to its introduction, citizens of watch-list countries such as China, India, Indonesia and some African nations, who married locals, would have to renew their visas every month for about a year, after which they would be renewed annually. -- BERNAMA