Malaysia registered over one million illegal immigrants

(bikyamasr) – Malaysia’s Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop said that the government had registered over one million illegal immigrants during a registration period last August.

Of those registered, 1,015,852 were registered for work purposes, while the remaining 287,364 were registered to be sent to their home nations.

161,843 illegals have been sent home, the government said.

“The remaining 125,521 are in the process of being sent home,” said Yusop in his reply to a question by Fong Kui Lun in Parliament Monday.

He added that the amnesty process, which was implemented in October last year, was to register all illegal immigrants under the 6P program to enable them to work legally in Malaysia.

“Until June 14, 2012, from the 1,015,852 Pati who were registered to work legally, 536,009 who worked with 100,233 employers were granted amnesty,” said Abu Seman.

He said this showed that about 47.2 percent who were registered to work had yet to go through the amnesty process.

He added that although the amnesty process ended on April 10, the interview process was ongoing to enable employers to set an appointment until June-end this year.

He urged those who have not gone through the amnesty process to not wait until the last minute to do so.

The moves have been praised by local NGOs and human rights organizations as a step forward for the country in dealing with illegal workers in the country.