Malaysia detains 78 Bangladeshis in a drive against illegal immigrants

Malaysian police have detained 474 illegal immigrants, including 78 Bangladeshis, in New Year campaigns across the country.

Rafiq Ahmed Khan, Malaysia Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 4 Jan 2020, 09:14 AM
Updated : 4 Jan 2020, 09:14 AM

The immigration police carried out 124 raids in the first two days of the New year and checked 1,871 foreigners, said Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud, Malaysia Immigration Department director-general, as quoted by The Star.

Starting from Aug 1 of last year, illegal immigrants were given time until the end of the year to return back to their home countries. A campaign is underway to arrest those who have failed.

Of those detained, Indonesians were the highest with 220, followed by China, 89, Bangladesh, 78, Myanmar, 42, the Philippines, 22, and others.

"Action will also be taken against employers who hire illegal immigrants under the Immigration Act 1959/63," said Datuk Khairul in a statement.

The department is committed towards conducting large-scale continuous operations around the country, following the conclusion of the Back For Good (B4G) repatriation programme on Dec 31, he added.

"A total of 190,471 illegal immigrants have registered for the B4G programme. Those who failed to sign up will be rounded up.”