KUCHING: As of 21 March this year, a total of 690 illegal immigrants have been arrested by the Immigration Department.
70 per cent of those arrested under their Everyday Operation or ‘Hari-hari operasi’ (H2O) are Indonesian.
A total of 4,148 foreign workers were already checked.
“We are mindful of the presence of illegal immigrants, particularly in Sarawak.
“Currently we have conducted a total of 219 operations and we are aiming to achieve a total of 1,000 operations within this year. This is how serious we are in tackling the problem,” said State’s Director of Immigration Ken Leben in a press conference held at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar, yesterday.
He disclosed that in 2016, from 669 operations, 26,446 foreigners were inspected and 2,190 were arrested.
“Half of those arrested did not have valid passes when making their way into the state, 27 per cent exceeded their stay period, 15 per cent abused their social passes, three per cent abused their work permits and another three per cent forged their documents.
“More H2O operations (Hari-hari operasi) will be conducted in sectors that are more prone to employ illegal immigrants such as plantation, construction and manufacturing sectors.
“We have also implemented the 3+1 programme where those who have overstayed or without a valid pass are given specific period to leave the country without being charged.
“Failing to do so will result in them being arrested, charged and then deported, blacklisting them altogether from ever re-entering the state,” he said. Ken also disclosed that enforcement officers who are located at airports and border checkpoints will be transferred annually to protect their integrity in the immigration system.
He said that these areas are the main targets of syndicates and that the transfer would be the department’s Standard Operating System (SOP) due to the arrests of 11 immigration officers who took bribes to protect illegal immigrants.
“A task force has been formed to evaluate entry passes for investors, spouse programme, oil and gas officers’ work permits and maids.
“Starting from 15 April, all companies and or employers need to be present to employ foreigners to work with them. The use of agents will not be entertained, unless they come with valid documents that may prove they are representing their employers,” said Ken.
