Updates on 22-6-2018 @ 10:25 pm: According to an article by Mr Danny Lim, Tuan Wan Quoris Shah bin Wan Abdul Ghani (a.k.a. “Badak” in the UMNO circle), is the key player in this “visa processing fees” business. He is also one of two most trusted lieutenants of YB Datuk Khairy Jamaluddin, the ex-Minister of Youth and Sports. The other trusted lieutenants is Tuan Firmansyah Muhammad (a.k.a. “Dax”). Please read HERE.
Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd is a powerful company. “Pada 13-1-2017 pihak Konsulat Jeneral Malaysia telah menerima kunjungan hormat daripada Syarikat Ultra Kirana Sendirian Berhad yang telah mengadakan lawatan kerja ke Konsulat Jeneral Malaysia. Syarikat Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd telah diwakili oleh Encik Wan Quoris Shah bin Wan Abdul Ghani, Encik Noraidi Bakhtiar bin Nordin dan Encik Syazwan bin Zamri. Meraka berbincang mengenai eVisa.” Please read HERE.
We have read with interest that ‘Council of Elders”, which is also called “Council of Eminent Persons”, is probing a company which is involved in charging Visa “Processing Fees” for Chinese tourists, HERE.
Tourists from India, Sri Lanka, People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) and a few other countries have to pay the “processing fees” to private companies. It would appear that the collections of processing fees had been sanctioned by the ex-Minister of Home Affairs and Wisma Putra too.
Before we discuss the issue of “Procession Fees” of about RM100 charged by a company known as Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd and another company for each Chinese tourists, who already on “Visa Free” Programe since March 2016, we need to know the background of this “processing fees” business. It is a big business that involved many parties, who were very powerful up to May 9 , 14th GE.
Prior to the introduction of “Electronic Travel Registration and Information (eNTRI)” facility, which attracts RM100 Processing Fees”, the center is known “One Stop Centre” (“OSC”). The OSC was operated by Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd and a Chinese company known as Beijing Lingxiang International Entry & Exit Service Co Ltd. Please read HERE.
Chinese Tourists Via OSC
Every PRC tourist had to pay visa application fees of RMB80 (about RM53) to the Malaysian Government, a reasonable cost for what it is, on the surface, a pretty fuss-free process. However, it appears that on top of this fee, each applicant also had to pay additional RMB120 as Service Fees to the authorized processing concessionaire “SPPV One Stop Center” (“OSC”) by Ministry of Home Affairs. It would appear that OSC was also sanctioned by Wisma Putra.
There are 4 OSC in China – located in Beijing, Guangzhou, Kunming and Shanghai – all jointly operated by Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd and Beijing Lingxiang International Entry & Exit Service Co Ltd.
In addition to these OSC has also appointed 40 regional satellite agents to facilitate passport & documentation collection from applicants in Xi An, Ta Lian, Tiang Jin, Shang Yang, Ji An, Qing Tao & Zhang Zou. These appointed satellite agents will impose a second service fee of RMB50 on top of the RMB120 already charged by the OSC for the same “service”.
This means that on top of an official visa fee of RMB80, PRC tourists wishing to visit Malaysia have to cough up a total of RMB170 (RMB120 + RMB50) in service fees!
When one considers that these OSCs process a minimum of 1,500 applicants a day, it’s clear that these concessionaires are making a mint from these services. The total daily collection for the OSCs would be about RM120,000.00. This amount for PRC only. OSCs are also in operation in other countries.
The OSC in Beijing
Are the services they offer commensurate with what they are charging? There are less than 10 members of staff in the OSC in Beijing. At any given time, they are only about 3 members of staff keying in the particulars and swiping the passport of applicants. This process only takes less than 10 seconds per applicant. The information of the applicants will then be sent back to Bukit Aman for clearance.
For those applicants that have been cleared by Bukit Aman, at 3 pm of the same day the staff of UKSB will go to the Malaysian Embassy to obtain Visa stickers and stick it on the applicants’ passports. This was the “services” performed by UKSB. It hardly justifies the processing fees of RMB170.
Since March 2016 yours truly has been calling upon the government to scrap the processing fees and implement Visa Free so as to make it easier and less costly for tourists to come to Malaysia, HERE.
Yours truly will discuss the Visa Free Programe through eNTRI in Part 2.
Background of Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd (“UKSB”)
UKSB was incorporated on 21-10-2009. Its nature of business “Engaged in the business of carrying on outsourcing visa facilitation service in the people’s Republic of China”.
UKSB List of Directors
In the SSM report of UKSB for 2015, its directors are:
Harry Lee Vui Khium,
Fadzil bin Ahmad; and
Tuan Wan Quoris Shah bin Wan Abdul Ghani (a.k.a.”Badak”) (He is one of the key players in the “Processing Fees” business under OSC and eNTRI. He is also a very close associate of an ex-Minister [UMNO]. )
List of UKSB Shareholders
Its shareholders:
HRL Capital Sdn Bhd, a dormant company.
Gabungan Kesturi Sdn Bhd; and
HRL Capital Sdn Bhd has two shareholders who are both brothers namely Harry Lee Vui Khium and Paul Lee Vui Yung. Yours truly had been informed that they are Sabahan and politically well connected.
Gabungan Kesturi Sdn Bhd’s only shareholder of 2 shares is Amanah Raya Bhd.
OSC Operates In Other Countries
It seemed that the OSC and the collections of processing fees have been sanctioned by the Immigration Department and Wisma Putra. The OSC have been set up in China, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Vietnam, Pakistan, Myanmar, Montenegro and Serbia, HERE.
It has been estimated that the daily taking of the processing fees under the OSC is about RM500,000.00!
Council of Elders Will Need MACC To Assist
The Council of Elders may need the help of MACC to investigate into this matter. It would appear that the OSCs are operated by several parties.
PH Government should immediately abolish the so-called “Processing Fees” charged by the OSC under UKSB in PRC and other companies in other countries. By doing so it will no doubt increase the number of tourists visiting Malaysia.
Next Posting: PART – 2 Visa “Processing Fees” under the new name of “eNTRI” because of the introduction of “Visa Free” for certain countries. Thereafter, we shall deal with direct negotiation contracts in TM & then issues in PR1MA.
Stay tuned.
