Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB) should place more interpreters fluent in languages such as Mandarin, Tamil and Arabic to assist foreign travellers in the country’s airports, said Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

The Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister said he had received feedback that many international visitors, especially those arriving early in the morning, do not receive sufficient assistance when it comes to language interpretation.

“This has led to much miscommunication, resulting in slow immigration queues and worse, visitors who are at risk of being declared ‘Not To Land’ or NTL and deported unnecessarily,” he said in a statement posted on his Facebook page.

Tiong said he was aware and appreciative that Malaysia airports do have staff who can converse in Mandarin, Tamil and Arabic.

However, he stressed that there should be more interpreters at airports as passengers still faced language barriers with non-native speakers of Mandarin and Tamil who may not have correctly interpreted the nuances of those languages.

“It is not wrong to hire a more multicultural or multiracial diverse staff force who can speak their mother tongues to visitors from India, China and the Middle East for instance,” he said.

He also said that the Immigration Department must appoint more multi-racial officers on the ground at entry points like Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to prevent miscommunication problems.

“Both the Immigration, MAHB, and other ministries must work together to tackle these and other related issues.

“This is important if we want tourists to feel that we welcome them as a nation. This is our main objective, which is to portray the best image of Malaysia as a good place to visit.

“We don’t want any more misinterpretation that mars their travelling experience here,” he said.

Tiong also urged MAHB to dedicate human resources or other facilities to help genuine foreign travellers resolve issues such as purchasing return tickets, managing hotel booking or even purchasing telco sim cards that could otherwise lead to their NTL.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by BORNEO POST ONLINE

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