Security checks at airports can be annoying, but they are essential to prevent passengers from carrying items that could be used as weapons or from falsifying travel documents to leave the country. With that in mind, is it still possible for you to go through security checks or immigration with a fake passport?
Earlier this week, a travelling content creator who goes by @/usa_warm98 posted a video on his TikTok channel showing him presenting what he claims were fake passports to security officers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 before boarding his flight. “My fake passport will pass her test???” he titled the clip. The officers were shown carefully inspecting the passport before allowing the traveller and presumably his girlfriend to pass through the gate.
“Fake passports! Our fake passports successfully passed inspection,” he said, smiling alongside his girlfriend, who appeared equally amused. The video has since gone viral, garnering over 672,000 views, and has attracted significant criticism from netizens, particularly Malaysians, who questioned the thoroughness of KLIA Terminal 2’s security checks. Some even suspected that the uploader may be lying when he claimed that they were using fake passports. The airport became aware of the viral video a day after it was posted and has since issued a statement to clarify the situation.
In the comments section, KLIA stated: “Hi there, please be informed that all international departing passengers are processed by Immigration before entering the boarding area, where any passport, real or fake, would be detected. The claim has been escalated to the authorities for verification. Thank you.” This suggests that the passports used in the viral video may have been real. If they were indeed fake, the travellers would have had to use their actual passports when passing through immigration.
According to reports, Datuk Zakaria Shaaban, Malaysia’s Immigration Department (JIM) Director-General, confirmed that investigations have been launched. “So far, no formal reports have been received by the Immigration Department regarding the allegation. We are in the process of identifying the TikTok account involved and do not rule out summoning airline personnel suspected of assisting in the incident to aid our investigation,” he told reporters.
At the time of writing, there has been no update on the case, but as seen in the screenshots above, netizens have been calling for legal action to be taken against the content creator for spreading misinformation and tarnishing Malaysia’s image. Let this be a lesson that even if you’re not actually committing a crime, perhaps it’s best not to post a video, claiming that you are.
Watch the viral clip video:
@usa_warm98 My fake passport will pass her test ??? #travel #kualalumpur
Sources: TikTok, Sinar Harian, TheVibes
