Illegal workers fleeing Malaysia

Illegal workers fleeing Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Illegal immigrants who came to Malaysia
to work are fleeing the country ahead of a Dec. 31 deadline for
deportation of those without entry permits, newspapers yesterday
quoted police and officials as saying.

Police have also stepped up patrols near Kuala Lumpur
embassies to prevent the immigrants from going there to seek
political asylum to avoid being sent home, the New Sunday Times
newspaper said.

It quoted Perlis state immigration director Raja Yahya Aziz as
saying 15 Myanmar workers and five Bangladeshis were caught while
trying to cross into Thailand. Perlis state is next to southern
Thailand.

Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in October that there
were 750,000 foreign workers in the country with work permits and
a million more who worked illegally. Malaysia's booming economy
has created acute labor shortages and provided a magnet for
foreign workers.