Crackdown: Malaysia gives it a second thought
After an unparalleled crackdown on illegal immigrants and foreign workers started in Malaysia on September 1 with the aim to “flush out” up to 500,000 non-residents without the necessary paperwork, Malaysia’s government has obviously given it a second thought and is mulling an amnesty for professions that are needed in the country, according to Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“We will give some of them another chance,” he said, adding that “the country needs manpower in certain sectors.”
Around 5,000 illegal immigrants have so far been detained since the start of the drive, most of them Indonesian and Bangladeshi nationals. Not all of them will be deported, the minister said.
“We will provide the facility for employers to register these workers to be legalised under the 6P amnesty programme because we are considering the shortage of manpower in certain sectors, where we reckon foreign workers are needed,” he added.
He said the government had also listened to the appeal from employers that the detained migrants should be given another chance.
Labour and human rights activists have also warned that asylum seekers and refugees may get swept up in the crackdown on undocumented immigrants. There are more than 100,000 refugees registered in Malaysia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The majority of them are ethnic Burmese minorities who say they have fled persecution back home.
But Malaysian law doesn’t recognise refugee status. There’s no actual provision for status for refugee in immigration law,
After an unparalleled crackdown on illegal immigrants and foreign workers started in Malaysia on September 1 with the aim to "flush out" up to 500,000 non-residents without the necessary paperwork, Malaysia's government has obviously given it a second thought and is mulling an amnesty for professions that are needed in the country, according to Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. "We will give some of them another chance," he said, adding that "the country needs manpower in certain sectors." Around 5,000 illegal immigrants have so far been detained since the start of the drive, most of them Indonesian and Bangladeshi...
After an unparalleled crackdown on illegal immigrants and foreign workers started in Malaysia on September 1 with the aim to “flush out” up to 500,000 non-residents without the necessary paperwork, Malaysia’s government has obviously given it a second thought and is mulling an amnesty for professions that are needed in the country, according to Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“We will give some of them another chance,” he said, adding that “the country needs manpower in certain sectors.”
Around 5,000 illegal immigrants have so far been detained since the start of the drive, most of them Indonesian and Bangladeshi nationals. Not all of them will be deported, the minister said.
“We will provide the facility for employers to register these workers to be legalised under the 6P amnesty programme because we are considering the shortage of manpower in certain sectors, where we reckon foreign workers are needed,” he added.
He said the government had also listened to the appeal from employers that the detained migrants should be given another chance.
Labour and human rights activists have also warned that asylum seekers and refugees may get swept up in the crackdown on undocumented immigrants. There are more than 100,000 refugees registered in Malaysia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The majority of them are ethnic Burmese minorities who say they have fled persecution back home.
But Malaysian law doesn’t recognise refugee status. There’s no actual provision for status for refugee in immigration law,
