PROPOSAL TO REINTRODUCE VOA FOR TOURISTS FROM THREE INDIAN STATES HAILED

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- The Immigration Department has welcomed the proposal to reintroduce visa-on-arrival to Indian citizens from Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi.

Describing the suggestion by Prime Minister Najib Razak as appropriate, its
director-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman said the department found that most
people from the three states were more disciplined and law-abiding.

"For instance, most of the tourists from Bangalore are expatriates and
normally they seldom create problems," he said.

He was asked to comment on the statement by Najib that the government was
ready to consider reintroducing visa-on-arrival to Indian citizens from the
three states.

The prime minister, who said yesterday that nearly 40,000 Indian citizen
were "missing" in Malaysia after their visas expired, said overstaying normally
occurred among those who come from Chennai.

Calling on all parties not to misunderstand the matter, Abdul Rahman said
the move did not mean that the government was prejudice against certain groups
but had to take action so that the problem would not go on.

Asked on what mechanism the department would use to trace the missing 39,049
Indian citizens, Abdul Rahman said the department was looking into the matter
from the immigration and emigration point of view.

"We will take action against them. Those coming into and going out of the
country will be filtered. They can't escape," he said.
-- BERNAMA