Most illegals caught from Indonesia, Bangladesh
KUALA LUMPUR: A total 1,485 illegal immigrants were detained in an integrated operation launched by the Immigration Department of Malaysia (IDM) nationwide from midnight Friday.
IDM director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the detentions were the results of inspections by IDM with the co-operation of various agencies including the National Registration Department and the Malaysia Civil Defence Force on 3,750 aliens.
“An operation conducted by the IDM headquarters nabbed 218 illegal immigrants from 418 aliens inspected at an entertainment centre and two houses in the Klang Valley for various immigration offences,” he said in a statement here yesterday.
He said IDM had conducted 2,646 enforcement operations nationwide and inspected 40,321 people since Jan 1 until Thursday.
Of the total, 9,452 illegal immigrants of various nationalities were detained for numerous immigration offences including overstaying, entering the country without valid documents and abusing the social visit passes.
Khairul Dzaimee said 176 employers were also detained during the period while 151 had been charged in court and taken action upon.
“From all the illegal immigrants detained, the highest detentions were from Indonesia (3,261) followed by Bangladesh (2,378), Myanmar (868), Philippines (849), and the rest were from other countries,” he said.
He said the Ministry of Home Affairs through IDM would take all the necessary steps and firm action to tackle the issue of illegal immigrants. He said the government would not compromise in ensuring that employers and foreign workers complied with the country’s laws.
The firm measure, he said was necessary to overcome the problem of the influx of illegal immigrants into the country.