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.