Malaysia gets tougher on migrants

Malaysia gets tougher on migrants

Agence France-Presse Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi on Tuesday said that in just the first two months of this year 15,037 illegal immigrants had been arrested from Indonesia alone.

Speaking in parliament, Badawi revealed the full extent of an increasingly aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration, releasing figures showing arrests have rocketed and flagging even tougher action.

He said 158,420 illegal immigrants were arrested last year, more than 37,000 up on apprehensions in 2000.

He warned that heavier penalties were planned and border security was being stepped up.

While Malaysia says illegal migrants have contributed to a growth in crime and other social problems, the tough new line is also seen as a bid to protect jobs for locals in a time of economic hardship.

Badawi admitted that only two percent of foreigners in the country were involved in crime.

Malaysia's increasing intolerance of illegal immigrants has also turned against legal workers from Indonesia after two riots in January by textile and construction workers.

The government announced that Indonesians would be hired in future only as domestic helpers and plantation workers.

In the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah, it is Filipinos who have been the main target of a two-week blitz, which has also seen 7,067 squatter houses demolished.

Police said Tuesday more than 4,500 people had been arrested in Sabah, including 3,841 Filipinos and 697 Indonesians.

They are held in detention camps before being deported in an ongoing drive which aims to evict a total of some 30,000 illegal immigrants from Sabah alone.

If they are caught trying to sneak back in they face a mandatory whipping under Malaysian law, a penalty now being considered for first offenders.

The action in Sabah is in line with a tougher approach throughout Malaysia, which is home to 750,000 legal foreign workers and hundreds of thousands of mainly-Indonesian illegal immigrants.

The government has said it aims to deport about 10,000 Indonesians every month.

Badawi said the government was also gravely concerned about the discovery of dangerous weapons during the crackdown on illegal immigrant squatter settlements in Sabah.

Although police have said they would also weed out any armed militant groups found during the Sabah operation, Badawi said the weapons were probably for use in crime.