Immigration Dept to carry out 1,300 op monthly
PETRA JAYA: More action can be expected to weed out illegal immigrants and errant employers as the Immigration Department sets a new target of carrying out 1,300 operations monthly.
Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said the figure would be the department’s new target for its Key Performance Index (KPI).
“We have exceeded our initial KPI of 850 operations per month, so we strive to do better. Therefore, we have set a new target as a challenge for our officers,” he said.
Mustafar said since launching its E-Card Op Mega in July, more than 19,000 illegal immigrants and 427 employers had been detained.
Last month, 1,327 operations were launched to track down employers and illegal workers who failed to obtain the E-card or Enforcement Card.
“I’m happy with the figures, which I received last night. We are committed to fighting against illegal workers and employers who try to protect and hire them,” he said, adding that the majority of those arrested were from the construction and service sectors.
“We have given them ample time to register their workers and some still failed to do so. Besides, we also introduced rehiring and the 3-plus-1 programme for the illegal foreign workers who wanted to work here.
“But, there are people who refused to cooperate with us. We will not compromise on this any more,” he said after witnessing the anti-corruption integrity pledge by Sarawak Immigration Department at the state library here.
The department was moving towards digitalising its daily operations by introducing online applications, as well as e-payment systems to reduce corruption and abuse of power, Mustafar said.
The E-card programme was introduced to meet the high demand for foreign workers by employers to address labour shortages in several key economic sectors in Peninsular Malaysia on Feb 15.
With the card, employers or the foreigners would be given a year to register accordingly. Issuance of the card ended on July 1.