KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department today cleared the air involving a viral video showing a big crowd allegedly queueing at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport's immigration counters, saying that it was an old clip.
In a statement today, its director-general, Datuk Ruslin Jusoh, said the rumour that the airport is experiencing a heavy influx of tourists arriving from China is not true.
He said the 17-second viral video is a recording from 2022, when the borders had just been reopened.
"Moreover, the recording location was at the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) Bus Terminal in Johor Baru and not KLIA, as suggested in the post.
"The department wishes to clarify that the video is an old clip during the reopening of the country's borders after the government lifted the Covid-19 cross-border movement restrictions last year," he said, adding that the crowd were Malaysians working in Singapore returning home.
Ruslin said the large crowd queueing at the immigration counters in BSI were mostly Malaysians working there and stranded in Singapore for months following the border restrictions.
He said on average, daily movements at BSI are about 250,000 travellers, and these numbers will double during the festive season.
"One should not spread inaccurate or unverified information that could mislead, confuse and cause unnecessary unrest within the community," Ruslin said, urging the public to check the department's official social media page or portal for more accurate information.