Originally Posted by
spc354
The stolen passports issue in case of MH 370 has me thinking.
I have transited KLIA recently on two occasions and the passport control process is:
1. I provide passport
2. Officer scans passport and checks for last departure/entry on computer
3. Asks me to put my fingers on scanner and nods when done
3. Looks through passport pages to find that stamp for last exit/entry
(Stops looking when they find date... which leads me to believe they already see the date on the computer screen and are only trying to locate that particular entry)
4. Stamp the passport as close to the last stamp as possible (always near entry stamp for exit, but sometimes the nearest empty page adjacent to last exit stamp) and allow me to proceed
If an EU citizen is travelling, they are allowed 90 days visa free. So they should have entered in the last 90 days (and finger scan routine will have a base to compare).
Sceanarios:
If stolen passport was also used to enter Malaysia, and finger prints at entry and exit don't match, that is a flag.
If no entry shown in 90 days, a visa free stay violation will result in a flag.
If entry and exit are within 90 days, and finger scans at entry and exit match, there is no flag at departure, but now, post incident, there is something to compare with interpol databases and also to backtrack previous travel of that individual.
Does this make sense?
My prayers are for the passengers and crew of MH 370 and their families.
I think you're describing the normal arrival/departure process at KLIA but not the transiting procedure. Passengers arriving from other countries exit into the main gate areas of the terminal and intermingle with departing passengers. They don't have to reclear security (as at NRT and other airports) before getting back into the departures area. Nor do they go through any passport inspection by Malaysian immigration officers. The only place where a cursory check of the passport takes place is at the gate where a security screening also occurs. This check of passports is done by private security staff, not Malaysian officials nor airline staff. These are not overly trained people and their job is basically to ensure the name on the boarding pass matches that on the passport, and the picture in the passport looks like the person traveling. I doubt they'd be concerned about a Middle Eastern-looking man having a very "white" European name as long as the picture matched the person.
So these two men would never have come in contact with Malaysian immigration personnel (and an earlier remark by the Minister would have been based on a misunderstanding). Having flown the sister MH flight KUL-PVG two weeks ago, I experienced this process first-hand.
However, I would expect that a Thai immigration officer would have been trained to enquire about the apparent inconsistency between name and appearance. Same with the check-in agent at the Thai point of departure...not to mention the TA who issued the ticket. (In the latter case, I would suspect s/he would have been in collusion as this fits the perfect pattern of a terrorist or drug smuggler: paid cash, one-way ticket, final destination not the country of the passport...)
I am not suggesting terrorism here, but there are obvious red lights that should have flashed and raised concerns at many points along the line. And if this is as common as is reported, then it is time to ensure this InterPol database is linked to every immigration/airline computer system that signs on to ICAO. It is not an infringement of your rights, it is a protection for you and me. We are granted the right of safe passage to/from various countries by virtue of our passports. That safe passage should include knowing there are not passengers on our flights who are not who they purport to be.