Illegal expats can leave KL skipping prosecution
Staff Reporter :
The Malaysian government has initiated a programme for the illegal migrant workers to leave the country willingly without getting any prosecution.
“Illegal and undocumented foreign workers can leave Malaysia voluntarily without facing arrest or any punitive actions through the programme,” Dato’ Ruslin bin Jusoh, Director General of Malaysian immigration department told the media.
The immigration chief said that they will sit with Bangladesh and Indonesian Embassies to get their assistance on these regards.
He said in some cases, migrant workers have to pay fines and they have to surrender voluntarily with certain documents and to leave the country within 14 days after getting surrendered.
The programme started from March1 and will be functional till 31December this year.
About 600,000 undocumented foreign workers can voluntarily return to their home countries through the Migrant Repatriation Programme (MRP), where they will only be compounded and can be secured from prosecution.
Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the programme aimed to allow illegal foreigners to return to their own countries.
The home minister said 600,000 undocumented foreign workers could be those who were previously registered under the Workforce Recalibration Programme (WRP), which enabled employers to legalise their workers and given work permits in sectors, such as manufacturing and construction.
“This is provided to undocumented foreign workers who decide they no longer want to work in Malaysia after WRP,” Datuk Ismail said.
“The compounds are RM500 each for those who had entered Malaysia without valid passes and had overstayed, while those who had flouted the conditions of their passes will have to pay RM300.
“After settling the compounds, they will be able to fly home without being subjected to any immigration laws,” the Malaysian minister said.
“We would not invoke immigration laws like opening investigation papers against them.
They have 10 months to register for this, after which, they will be considered illegal and be subjected to enforcement,” the Malaysian minister said at the ministry headquarters on Friday.
Up to 12pm on Friday, 848 illegal foreigners had registered themselves for the programme, the minister said.
The programme was under the supervision of the Immigration Department and does not involve any third party, Saifuddin added.
He said the department would not entertain anyone who wished to apply for the programme through third parties or agents.
