Al-Jazeera documentary on illegal workers unfair, says DPM

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has denied that there are four million illegal foreign workers in the country as alleged in a documentary by AlJazeera.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the documentary unfairly portrayed Malaysia as if it was flooded with undocumented foreign workers.

“The issue of illegal foreign workers is solved with the introduction of an online application registration system,” he said, adding that the footage in the documentary was believed to have been recorded six months ago.

Dr Ahmad Zahid was replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKRPermatang Pauh) during question time in Parliament yesterday.

Dr Wan Azizah had asked the Government about the measures taken following the airing of the documentary last week and about ways to tackle the problem of illegal foreign workers.

Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said AlJazeera had touched on many other issues that portrayed the country negatively.

“That is why they have problems with other countries as well.

“I hope this explanation will clear up the situation,” he said.

He also denied allegations that 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers have been brought into Malaysia, clarifying that it was the total number of Bangladesh nationals who had registered with their government to work overseas.

He said the actual number of Bangladeshi workers here depended on the requests made by local industries.

On the action taken against employers who failed to register their illegal foreign workers, Dr Ahmad Zahid said the employers would be charged in court.

“So far, a total of 1,066 premises have been inspected, with 14,585 people checked and 4,567 illegal foreign workers detained.

“We are serious on the issue of human trafficking.

“We will not compromise and will take strict action to curb the problem,” he said.