The Immigration Department wants employers harbouring and employing illegal workers to be punished according to the 2002 amendment to the Immigration Act 1959/63. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, March 12, 2016.The Immigration Department will push for employers to be caned if they are found guilty of harbouring and employing illegal workers, the New Straits Times (NST) reported today.
The penalty was included in the Immigration Act 1959/63 after its 2002 amendment, but there is no record of any courts imposing such a sentence on guilty employers, according to NST.
Immigration Department director-general Datuk Sakib Kusmi said they wanted a more deterrent punishment following employers' poor response to the government's rehiring programme.
Since the programme began on February 15, only 3,700 employers and 13,000 illegal migrants have come forward to be registered.
"The progress is slow. We have given employers time but their response is not encouraging," Sakib was quoted as saying.
Errant employers felt they would only be compounded if caught employing illegal immigrants, and would rather pay the fine than stop hiring illegal workers, he said.
He said the department would also intensify raids and conduct operations with other enforcement agencies including police, the People’s Volunteer Corps and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
Raids will now be conducted at any time of the day or night, and the number of enforcers during each operation will be increased.
"This major nationwide crackdown will be similar to what we did in Cameron Highlands last year to flush out all the illegal workers." – March 12, 2016.
Comments
Please refrain from nicknames or comments of a racist, sexist, personal, vulgar or derogatory nature, or you may risk being blocked from commenting in our website. We encourage commenters to use their real names as their username. As comments are moderated, they may not appear immediately or even on the same day you posted them. We also reserve the right to delete off-topic comments