Immigration Dept calls for severe penalty for employers using illegal workers

KUCHING: The Department of Immigration is calling for more severe penalty for convicted employers as one of ways to curb illegal immigrants in the country.

Its director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said imposing a fine alone was not heavy enough for many employers who failed to see the consequence of opting to hire illegal foreign workers.

He even proposed that courts in Malaysia go for whipping on convicted employers in order to deter the use of illegal foreign workers.

Speaking at a press conference here yesterday, Mustafar said many employers would apply for cheaper permit for foreign workers to serve in sectors that came with higher levy (on foreign labour).

He said, for instance, employers would apply for permit for foreign workers in either plantation or agriculture sectors but they used them (foreign labour) instead in other sectors, to avoid paying a higher levy.

He said the levy on foreign labour varied, depending on the sectors.

Levy for foreign workers working in plantation and agriculture sectors is relatively lower compared to that of other sectors.

Mustafar said foreign workers issued with a permit to work in the plantation sector but served in a different sector was committing an offence even though their employers did apply for permit for the first two sectors.

The five major sectors in Malaysia that employ foreign workers are construction and engineering, service, plantation, agriculture and manufacturing.

In Sarawak, the levy for foreign labour in the plantation sector is RM590 per worker, agriculture (RM410), construction (RM1,100) and service (RM1,490).

On a separate issue, Mustafar said the Department of Immigration was the first enforcement authority in the country to be awarded the ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management Systems (ABMS) certification.

The certification means the department is serious about fighting bribery to uphold integrity and transparency in dealing with foreign labour issues.

Oher government agencies and corporations that have been awarded similar certification include Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), Bank Rakyat, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), Road Transport Department, and Public Service Department.