Migrants in Malaysia: Stop the illegals first
Migrants in Malaysia: Stop the illegals first
V.K. CHIN, The Star, Asia News Network, Kuala Lumpur
The government will need to put aside more money in its campaign to deal with the Indonesian workers issue. Areas requiring such funds urgently are the instant deportation of illegals and troublemakers and preventing them from sneaking in.
Facilities to enforce this must be put in place as quickly as possible. In deporting these foreigners, it is necessary to do so without undue delay and this can only be done if transportation is available for this purpose.
More boats must be put in service so that those who are caught can be sent home as has been done in the case of some of those who participated in the Nilai riots. This is of course a very costly exercise but boats are required to ferry them across the Straits of Malacca.
Otherwise, they will have to be held in detention centers until transport can be arranged to send them home. Holding them in such camps for any length of time can lead to further trouble.
If they are held there for too long, there is always the possibility that they will cause riots.
It will still cost money to provide them with three meals a day and keeping such centers in reasonable condition. Guards will have to be posted to look after them. Such expenditure can be saved if they are sent home immediately upon capture.
The Indonesian government has often pledged that it will provide whatever assistance necessary to ensure that such operations are conducted smoothly. It will be difficult to implement such repatriation without Jakarta's support.
It is useless to send them home if there are tens of thousands of them just waiting to sneak into Malaysia and it is therefore important that surveillance of the coastal areas be stepped up to discourage this.
More personnel, whether the army, Rela or other groups, must be deployed to patrol and watch the spots where such foreigners can land as they have been doing for years now with the aid of unscrupulous boat owners.
Though many of those being smuggled in know the risks involved in coming illegally, they are still prepared to pay for such trips because Indonesia is facing serious economic difficulties and they know they can earn a living in Malaysia.
The marine police must be provided with more patrol boats to intercept and search any vessel from Indonesia coming into Malaysian territory to stop the inflow of such illegals. But the enforcement agencies will always have to be on the alert to stamp out the flow of such undesirable visitors.
Otherwise, it will be a waste of time and resources for the police and immigration officers to round up these foreigners while new ones will arrive in equal or larger numbers because the guarding of the coastlines is not effective.
Due to the crackdown, many of these foreigners will no doubt be in hiding to avoid arrest and to hold out for as long as possible. It is up to the public to play their part by informing the police on the whereabouts of such illegals for action to be taken against them.