6P deadline stays

Hisham: No more extension as ministry gears for next phase

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government will not be extending the deadline to register foreign workers under the 6P programme.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the deadline had been extended twice at the request of employers as well as foreign embassies here.

“I hope no one will ask for any more extensions so that we can move on to the third phase, which is amnesty,” Hishammuddin said after conducting a spot check at the ministry’s one-stop centre in Jalan Duta here yesterday.

The deadline for the 6P or Illegal Immigrant Comprehensive Settlement Programme is next Tuesday.

He urged those involved not to wait until the eleventh hour.

“If you cannot meet the deadline, don’t blame the Home Ministry,” he warned.

However, he said those with interview appointments after April 10 can still proceed since their dates had been set earlier.

Up until April 4, 70,847 employers have legalised their 372,335 foreign workers, who were previously illegal immigrants.

This is out of the total 2.3 million foreign workers who registered under the first phase of the programme.

A total of 123,346 foreign workers have been deported voluntarily under the amnesty at no cost to the Malaysian Government.

The largest group is from Indonesia (77,396) followed by India (9,532), Nepal (8,235), Myanmar (7,132) and Cambodia (4,754).

“Under the monitoring phase, we managed to trace and get information about syndicates which tried to sabotage the 6P programme,” said Hishammuddin.

He added that the authorities were monitoring other syndicates’ operations which have been profiteering through human trafficking.

“Recently, we arrested and deported three Bangladeshi syndicate members. Our work is ongoing and we are working with the Bangladeshi government and international agencies.

“They are the culprits. They are making money from innocent people,” he said.