2,509 Indonesians Deported From Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur (Antara Bali) - A total of 2,509 Indonesians have been deported from Malaysia in the past two months as they were either illegal immigrants detained by the immigration officials or were involved in criminal cases.

According to the Indonesian Embassy here on Tuesday, of the total number of Indonesians detained, there were 1,759 men, 701 women, 17 boys, and 17 girls.

"They were deported to Indonesia through Pasir Gudang, Johor, to Tanjung Pinang in the Riau Islands province," Embassy Consular Coordinator Dino Nurwahyudin informed the newsmen.

Every week, the Malaysian government deports Indonesian illegal immigrants, who are known locally by the abbreviation PATI, for failing to present stay and work permits.

The Malaysian government has been conducting operations against PATIs and the operations will continue till its target to deport all the illegal immigrants in that country is achieved.

In 2013, the Malaysian government deported around 19 thousand illegal immigrants from Indonesia. The immigration operation is part of the ongoing legalization program for foreign workers.

A total of 348 thousand Indonesian workers have joined the program and 201 thousand of them have been legalized, while around 120 thousand others failed to present work permits.

The Malaysian government appears consistent in its efforts, which is evident by the fact that it has also arrested the employers of the illegal workers.

The number of Indonesian illegal immigrants caught in these operations surpasses the number of arrested illegal immigrants of Myanmarese, Bangladeshi, and Filipino origin.

During the operations conducted between January 21 and February 21, a total of 5,508 illegal immigrants were detained, which comprise 2,156 from Indonesia, 786 from Myanmar, 596 from Bangladesh, 589 from the Philippines, 355 from Nepal, 276 from India, and 252 from Pakistan.

In the meantime, a total of 59 employers have also been arrested for employing or protecting the immigrants.

"We have deported 5,261 illegal immigrants to their respective countries," Deputy Chief of Immigration Sakib Kusmi was reported as saying on Monday.

A total of 794 operations have been carried out in the period involving nine thousand officers from the concerned offices.

"Malaysia has already eased the visa application procedures," he noted. He remarked that Malaysia has never stopped the citizens of other countries from visiting or working in the country, but they must avail relevant visas or permits for it.

"We have even declared 2014 as a visit year, and so, we welcome tourists to increase our economy," he emphasized.

He reported that law enforcement operations will continue to be carried out for security purposes. (*/DWA)