3 days ago
1,000 employers detained for hiring, hiding undocumented migrants
Between Jan 1 and July 3, the immigration department conducted 6,913 nationwide operations and arrested 26,320 individuals, according to immigration director-general Zakaria Shaaban. (Bernama pic)
KUALA LUMPUR : The immigration department has detained 1,005 employers for allegedly hiring or harbouring undocumented migrants between Jan 1 and July 3.
Its director-general, Zakaria Shaaban, said the arrests involved employers from various sectors, including restaurants, factories, and retail shops, with most of them being Malaysians found sheltering foreign nationals without valid documents.
'As of July, we've achieved 70% of our Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and I'm confident we'll exceed our target by the end of the year,' he told reporters at an event here today. Present was Kuala Lumpur immigration director Wan Mohammed Saupee Wan Yusoff.
Zakaria said that during the same period, the immigration department conducted 6,913 nationwide operations, screening 97,322 foreign nationals and arresting 26,320 individuals for suspected immigration offences.
He said enforcement would continue to be intensified, with no compromise on undocumented migrants.
The department is also monitoring more than 200 identified hotspots across the country, including those in remote and rural areas.
Zakaria said public outreach events like today's programme, which drew more than 800 participants, would be continued to strengthen public engagement.
