KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — The Immigration Department denied any wrongdoing yesterday over claims that thousands of tourists from China could not leave for Malaysia on Thursday and Friday because the authorities there were unaware of the visa-free facility for tour groups.

Its deputy director-general (operations), Datuk Sakib Kusmi, said an email was sent to its attache in Beijing soon after the Home Ministry sent out a circular on the matter on September 28.

He was surprised when he read news reports about the problems faced by Chinese tourists who were not allowed to leave the country because the authorities there did not know about the visa-fee facility.

“We did what we were supposed to do. We can’t comment if information was not conveyed by the other (Chinese) side,” he said.

On Friday, Tourism Malaysia chairman Wee Choo Keong claimed that thousands of Chinese in tour groups were stopped at airports there on Thursday and Friday for not having visas despite the visa-free facility. 

This had allegedly resulted in tour agents here incurring millions of ringgit in losses because of the cancellation of bookings.

Wee blamed the Home Ministry for granting the green light too late — a mere 72 hours before implementation of the ruling which allows a 15-day visa-free stay here for Chinese tourists travelling in groups.

Sakib said the Immigration Department had not received any official complaint about tour groups without visas being barred from leaving for Malaysia.

A spokesman for Deputy Tourism Minister wDatuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin also said the ministry had not received any complaint.

“We are puzzled as to what happened on Thursday and Friday,” she said.

Contacted by Malay Mail, Wee reiterated the incident had prevented at least 5,000 Malaysia-bound Chinese tourists from coming here during what is known as the Golden Week in China when five days of holiday are declared to coincide with China’s National Day.

“It is shocking that tourists who had booked with more than 20 tour operators had to face such an eventuality at the eleventh hour,” he said.

“We could have hosted at least a quarter of the two to three million tourists from China if the glitch had not occurred.”

The idea of  visa exemption for Chinese tourists travelling in groups was mooted by the Tourism Ministry to woo more of them here following a significant drop in inbound tourists from the nation since the MH370 tragedy.

The Malaysia Inbound Tourism Association had reported a drop of nearly 30 per cent in Chinese tourists last year.