KUALA LUMPUR – A total of 79,231 illegal immigrants in Malaysia have voluntarily surrendered to authorities for deportation under the Migrant Repatriation Programme since March.
These migrants have also paid fines as penalties, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
“Out of the total, 68,900 individuals have been deported to their countries of origin after paying a fine. The government has collected nearly RM40,000 from these fines,” he said.
Saifuddin said this during today’s Dewan Rakyat session in response to a supplementary question from Datuk Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh (Pasir Puteh-PN) about the government’s strategy for dealing with illegal immigrants who live and conduct business in the country.
Saifuddin also said that the majority of those who surrendered were from Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.
He said the programme is one of two initiatives the government is implementing to address the issue, with the other involving regularly scheduled operations in 224 identified hotspot areas nationwide.
Since January, the ministry has conducted 7,975 operations. During this period, 76,477 migrants were inspected, with 20,207 individuals lacking self-identification documents, he added.
“We had detained them at our depots; we have 19 (depots) nationwide with a capacity of 13,000 people. We contact their respective embassies to arrange for their documents to be sent back,” he said.
He added that a total of 456 employers had also been detained for employing illegal immigrants.
Earlier, Saifuddin elaborated on the Visa Liberalisation Plan, which encompasses five components involving tourists and students from selected countries, as well as umrah and haj pilgrims from other countries.
“We prioritise security while welcoming visitors to Malaysia. It is paramount that we safeguard our borders and ensure compliance with visa regulations.
“Every individual entering Malaysia must complete the Malaysia digital arrival card. This initiative allows us to monitor their whereabouts and address any issues, such as overstaying their visa period,” he said, emphasising that this additional measure is in addition to existing stringent border security measures. – June 26, 2024