Malaysia announces reprieve for illegals<\/p>\n
Julia Yeow, Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Malaysia announced a last-minute reprieve for illegal immigrants
\nwho can prove they are willing to leave the country but warned
\nothers face jail and caning when an amnesty deadline expires on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
\"There is an extension of one month for those who want to go
\nhome but could not get travel documents and tickets in time,\"
\nImmigration Department director general Mohamed Jamal Kamdi said
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
He said that since the introduction of the amnesty on March
\n21, only 265,589 of some 600,000 illegal workers, most of them
\nfrom Indonesia, had responded to the voluntary repatriation
\nprogram and returned home.<\/p>\n
Mohamed warned remaining migrants not to see the extension as
\na means of remaining in the country as those caught without proof
\nof any effort to secure a ride home would be \"severely punished\".<\/p>\n
New laws which come into effect on Aug. 1 provide for a
\nmandatory six months in jail and possibly up to six strokes of
\nthe cane for illegal immigrants.<\/p>\n
Currently, offenders face up to five years' jail or a fine of
\nnot more than 10,000 ringgit (US$2,632), but courts mostly impose
\nfines.<\/p>\n
\"Starting Thursday, those who are caught and who have ignored
\nthe chance for them to leave during the amnesty will be severely
\npunished,\" Mohamed said, adding that a special pass would be
\nissued to enable authorities to tell which migrants were
\ngenuinely home-bound.<\/p>\n
As the deadline approaches thousands of desperate illegal
\nworkers are camping out at the southern Johor state's Stulang
\nLaut jetty, one of the major exit points in the country, hoping
\nto get a ferry home.<\/p>\n
Some 60,000 illegal workers have already been sent home from
\nthe jetty, which is said to be the most popular of the country's
\n24 exit points, and immigration officials are expecting thousands
\nmore to converge there.<\/p>\n
Mohamed said the government had requested an additional 15
\nIndonesian vessels to ease the load of ferrying back the mass of
\nillegal workers who have come forward.<\/p>\n
\"We knew that this would happen, the last-minute rush, and so
\nwe have discussed it with ferry operators and decided that there
\nshould be an extension of 30 days to clear everyone home,\" said
\nZainon Salleh, the department's enforcement director.<\/p>\n
Zainon said that Indonesians, who make up the bulk of
\nMalaysia's migrant population, accounted for 83 percent of those
\nwho have returned home, while Indians made up the next largest
\ngroup at 17,764.<\/p>\n
Bangladeshi workers were the third largest at 16,006, followed
\nby immigrants from Myanmar and the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Malaysian police have placed riot squads on guard at all major
\nexit points in anticipation of security problems posed by the
\nlarge number of migrants as the deadline for the amnesty draws
\ncloser.<\/p>\n
Malaysia, which is home to some 750,000 legal foreign workers,
\nblames illegal immigrants for contributing to a growth in crime
\nand other social problems.<\/p>",
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