Over 1 million registered illegal immigrants to be absorbed into five sectors

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KUALA LUMPUR: Five employment sectors have been given the green light to hire 1.3 million illegal immigrants registered under the 6P amnesty programme to fill up job vacancies.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the five sectors were manufacturing, plantations, agriculture, construction and services, with 15 types of jobs available for them in the service sector.

“I’m confident that the 1.3 million unemployed illegals can be distributed among these five sectors, as I was told over 1.3 million workers are needed.

“Therefore, the 1.3 million who have registered will be placed in these sectors which Malaysians have no interest in filling up,” he told reporters after a meeting with state immigration directors in Bukit Aman, here, yesterday.

However, he said, job offers and distribution were not under his ministry’s  jurisdiction but the other ministries involved.

“Absorbing them into these sectors is an effort to balance out our economic needs, but it must be done accurately and according to what was outlined by the prime minister.”

He said the 1.3 million illegals were part of the 2.3 million foreign immigrants who registered under the 6P programme.

“Some of the 1.3 million people had entered the country illegally, some had expired work permits, while others had entered using their passports but handed their passports to syndicates or their passports taken away by the syndicates.

“With the number of illegals registered, I feel that the process of absorbing those unemployed will become another Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to be implemented under the 6P programme,” he added.

With accurate data to allow monitoring, he said, no problem would arise that could affect national security regardless of the number of foreigners in the country.

“The illegals cannot run away because the biometric registration system under the 6P programme has recorded their biometric data or thumbprints in the databank.

“By not going through the biometric process, I believe the flood of illegal immigrants into Malaysia can create a big risk, so the 6P programme is the best move to overcome any issue involving them,” he said.

Hishammuddin disclosed that the programme’s second post-mortem would be held tomorrow at a meeting to be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and to be participated by 14 ministries and agencies.

Among the important matters to be discussed at the meeting is whether the legalisation process will use the current illegal immigrant employment policy or  consider the creation of a special policy for the process.

On Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, A K M Atiqur Rahman, who allegedly received threats after Bangladeshis in Malaysia were not allowed to use agents to register in the 6P programme, he said 24-hour protection and surveillance would be provided. — Bernama

“I had spoken to him last week, and yes, he received threats from certain disgruntled quarters.

“With the cooperation of the Bangladesh High Commission, we have registered 400,000 of their nationals who entered the country legally or illegally,” he said. — Bernama