An Immigration officer checks on the illegal immigrants arrested.
Joint taskforce members help an illegal immigrant and her child onto a lorry.
Wan Junaidi (centre) addresses the press. He is flanked by Assistant Minister of Communication Datuk Lee Kim Shin (left) and state Immigration Department deputy director Hamfatullah Syawal Hamdan.
MIRI: A joint taskforce arrested 151 illegal immigrants here during a raid early yesterday morning.
A total of 14 houses belonging to the illegal immigrants located at Pujut 7 and Kampung Batu Satu, Lutong were also demolished during the operation from 1am to 4am involving the Immigration Department, police, General Operations Force, Maritime Enforcement Agency, Civil Defence Department, Miri City Council, Land and Survey Department, People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) and Sarawak Energy Berhad.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said in total 155 persons were rounded up and checked during the operation, but only the 151 did not have valid documents.
“The Sarawak government and the Home Ministry are sending a very strong message that we don’t want illegal foreigners migrating to the state,” he told a press conference.
From the 151, 146 were Suluk from the Philippines, while five were Indonesians aged from less than one month old to 50. Wan Junaidi pointed out that most of those rounded up were women and children, as many of the men managed to flee the scene. One of the illegal immigrants was a pregnant woman, who was later brought to Miri Hospital.
“We treated them fairly and the woman was also brought to Miri Hospital and she’ll deliver her baby there and this is part of our approach to treat fairly the illegal immigrants,” he said. Wan Junaidi explained that all the illegal immigrants would be deported to their respective countries after serving jail time for their offences.
“The Home Ministry doesn’t want an influx of illegal immigrants into the state to become like the incident in Lahad Datu,” he stressed.
“We don’t want the perception that Sarawak can be easily sneaked into by illegals from the Philippines and Indonesia.” He called on all enforcement agencies to work together to resolve the issue. Meanwhile, the taskforce departed the Immigration Department office here with 329 enforcement officers around 12.50am.
“Most of the illegals were found squatting in wooden houses located at Miri River bank at Pujut 7. They were asleep when the raiding party ambushed the location,” an enforcement officer told The Borneo Post at the scene. The illegal immigrants were later brought to the Immigration Department office for further identification and checking before being transferred to the Immigration Detention Depot in Bekenu.