KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 2,170 illegal immigrants and 25 employers were arrested by enforcement agencies in 330 operations nationwide from May to June.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said they inspected 7,032 immigrants in the operations from May 23 to June 17 to curb the upsurge in the flow of illegal immigrants into the country.
He said the task of checking the upsurge did not rest solely on the ministry, but was the responsibility of all the relevant agencies and also the community.
“It can’t be denied that our people give illegal immigrants the chance to continue staying here for their own personal
reasons, so we hope all parties are more alert and will not compromise with any illegal immigrant,” he said in reply to a question from Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh (BN-Setiu) during the question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat, here yesterday.
Che Mohamad wanted to know about government efforts to tackle the upsurge in the flow of illegal immigrants which has raised concern among local residents.
In addition, Wan Junaidi said various integrated measures were taken by the Home Ministry with enforcement agencies to preserve the country’s stability.
These include tightening security at entrances on land and sea, inspecting premises which hire immigrants, fostering closer ties with embassies and so on, said Wan Junaidi.
He said the ministry also planned to build more depots to cater for more illegal immigrants under the 6P programme before they are deported home.
The 6P programme aims to resolve the issue of foreign workers and illegal immigrants in Malaysia. — Bernama