SEPANG — Malaysia’s Road Transport Department will assign additional officers to both terminals of Kuala Lumpur International Airport to curb touts who target foreign tourists with inflated transport charges.
JPJ director-general Aedy Fadly Ramli said on July 6 that a special operation carried out from June 12 to 26 uncovered widespread abuse, including drivers charging between RM500 and RM800 for trips that normally cost about RM80. He said some victims were also prevented from leaving vehicles if they refused to pay.
The operation, conducted with the Transport Ministry and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, focused on both KLIA terminals. Officers worked undercover with help from non-Malaysians to identify touts, inspecting 59 vehicles and seizing 54 of them for involvement in the activity.
Of the seized vehicles, 27 were privately owned and 16 were registered as e-hailing vehicles. Aedy also said some foreign touts, including Bangladeshis, had been detected and were often found targeting fellow Bangladeshis because of shared language.
JPJ data from January to June showed 133 vehicles had already been seized for road touting. Aedy said the current deployment of 17 officers is insufficient because the activity runs around the clock, including during early morning flight arrivals.
He said JPJ Selangor will now carry out daily patrols, while more personnel will be stationed permanently at the airport from next week to provide 24-hour coverage.