The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) has launched its new KIRA Chatbot and Lite Chat facilities on its official portal today, 17 August 2026.
Designed to streamline public enquiries regarding duty rates, import regulations, and restricted goods, the live chat features are meant to offer direct assistance without requiring users to call or visit a physical customs office.
Given the complex nature of customs laws, users naturally expect quick, straightforward answers or a seamless queue to reach a knowledgeable representative. However, our initial hands-on test shows that the implementation still leaves much to be desired.
Where to find the chat features
Users can access the platform by visiting the official JKDM website and clicking on the AI officer avatar located at the bottom-right corner of the page.
Testing the Live Chat with Customs officers
For specific queries that require direct human assistance, clicking “Chat dengan Pegawai” redirects you to a live representative.
Before entering the queue, the system requires keying in basic personal details, including your name, phone number, email address, and the nature of your enquiry. There is also an option to switch the language interface to English.
Once submitted, the portal assigns a queue number. In our experience, it took roughly three minutes to get assigned and connected to an officer.
After the wait, the chat window opens and displays the name of the assigned Customs officer. During our testing, the officer took a few minutes before responding to each message.
When replies did arrive, they were either generic or consisted of links to external documents rather than direct explanations.
For example, asking “What items are not permitted to bring to Malaysia?” resulted in the officer sending a link to a Federal Government Gazette document on the Attorney General’s Chambers portal.
When asked “Which countries are prohibited to bring pork to Malaysia?”, the officer sent a link to a Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) portal listing import restrictions for pork, rather than listing the banned countries directly within the chat window.
Another query asking “Are dairy products banned from coming to Malaysia?” returned a similarly uninformative reply.
Surprisingly, when asked “If I bring medicines from overseas, do I need to declare?”, the officer replied straightforwardly.
They advised declaring the items upon arrival and bringing along a doctor’s prescription, while limiting the supply to a maximum of one month’s usage, noting that any excess quantity requires prior application with the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).
Across multiple replies written in English, we also noticed clear grammatical errors from the attending officers.
How the automated Chatbot feature works
Moving onto the automated Chatbot feature, the system operates in a more straightforward manner.
You can select your primary enquiry topic, which opens options based on the nature of your query.
Clicking one of these options generates a direct link to download an official document onto your device for offline reading.
If the downloaded file fails to address your question, an option at the bottom allows you to request a live chat with an officer for further details.
Accurate sources, but live chat should provide direct answers
To give credit where it is due, JKDM’s choice to rely on ‘Actual Intelligence’, meaning human officers, ensures that the information and official links provided are accurate.
Unlike government AI implementations such as PMX AI or MyGov AI, which are prone to making mistakes, hallucinating facts, or returning weird answers, JKDM’s platform delivers verified official sources.
While pointing users in the right direction is a step forward, it would be far more useful if the system listed out the actual answers directly in the chat.
Relying heavily on external portal links and official gazette documents hinders the platform from being genuinely convenient. A live chat tool should prioritise providing direct, informative answers.
Forcing users to download PDF files and open extra browser tabs to find basic facts completely defeats the purpose of an interactive support service.
Malaysia’s Customs department introduces live chat powered by ‘Actual Intelligence’, but there’s a catch
News Reports PH
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