Romanian Traveller Stranded In Kl Over Blacklist Confusion

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Ciprian Strugaru says immigration officers did not bother looking at his documents.PETALING JAYA: A Romanian traveller, Ciprian Strugaru, who arrived at KLIA on Dec 2, has been denied entry into the country on the basis that Romania is under a supposed pandemic blacklist.
The 36-year-old Romanian who has been working in the UK for the past six years, settled his Langkawi quarantine registration as per the instructions by the ground staff.
The following morning, he was told that he needed to take a Covid-19 PCR test to be allowed to travel to Langkawi under the travel bubble.
After taking the test, immigration officers informed him that he could not enter Langkawi because of his Romanian passport.

“I tried to explain that I have not been to Romania in the past two years and that I’ve been residing in the UK, but they refused to listen to me. They also did not bother looking at my documents,” he told FMT.
The airport seats which Romanian traveller Ciprian Strugaru has used as a bed.He said a Malaysian Airlines staff member asked him to undergo quarantine in Kuala Lumpur, after which he could travel to Langkawi. So, he booked accommodation in the city that cost him more than RM2,000 to fulfil his quarantine requirements.
However, upon check-out, a different staff member reinstated the ban, and Strugaru had to go through the whole process again.
His friend, Syafiq Afham, attempted to reach out to the immigration authorities but was not able to get a hold of them.
Syafiq said he then contacted the home ministry, the health ministry, and the National Security Council who clarified that Romania was not under the banned list of countries.
Romanian traveller Ciprian Strugaru has been stranded in this KLIA corridor since he arrived.“I tried to convey this message to the immigration staff at KLIA but they said they could not do anything because they didn’t have any instructions from their superiors,” Syafiq told FMT.
Earlier today, Strugaru contacted the Romanian embassy in Kuala Lumpur and spoke with a consulate officer, Bogdan, who tried contacting the immigration authorities but had not received a response at the time of publishing.
“We are aware that Malaysia has full rights on who to admit or decline entry into the country, although to our knowledge Romanians are not banned from entry,” Bogdan told FMT.
He said he had also checked the tourism, arts and culture ministry website and noted that the updated Dec 2 ban list did not include Romania on it. However, he acknowledged that things could have changed since then and was waiting to speak with immigration authorities before deciding on further action.
FMT has reached out to immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud but has not received a response at the time of publishing. - FMT

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