KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has arrested five individuals, including three enforcement officers, for allegedly facilitating the illegal registration of foreign workers under the Immigration Department’s Labour Recalibration Programme (RTK).
According to a source, the remaining suspects comprise a company manager and a foreign national. All five individuals, aged between their 20s and 40s, were detained between 11am and 2.30pm yesterday in separate operations in Putrajaya and Kelantan.
“Initial investigations revealed that the three enforcement officers – two men and a woman – are suspected of accepting bribes ranging between RM50,000 and RM60,000 for processing foreign worker registration applications.
“All suspects are believed to have committed the offence between 2020 and 2021,” the source said.
The arrests were carried out under Op Putih, a MACC Intelligence Division operation in Kelantan aimed at exposing syndicate activity allegedly involving immigration officers and foreign agents abusing the RTK programme.
The source said the operation focused on curbing corruption among civil servants and dismantling syndicate networks involved in such practices.
A seven-day remand order was issued by Magistrate Amin Rashidi Ramli at the Kota Bharu Magistrates’ Court this morning, following an application by the MACC.
When contacted, MACC Intelligence Division senior director Datuk Idris Zaharudin confirmed the arrests, stating that the case is being investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009. – June 25, 2025