RI workers detained in crackdown on illegals

RI workers detained in crackdown on illegals

Agencies, Malaysia/Dumai

Malaysia arrested more than 560 foreigners, mostly Indonesians, as a nationwide sweep against illegal immigrants entered its second day on Wednesday, and authorities vowed not to relax efforts to track down the rest.

Immigration officials said thousands of migrants may have fled their homes to go into hiding and escape the country's biggest crackdown on illegal immigrants since 2002.

Home Minister Azmi Khalid pledged that Malaysia would persist with the crackdown, rejecting fears by human rights groups that suspects might be mistreated in custody.

"Compared to Guantanamo Bay, we are a five-star hotel," the minister was quoted by AP. He was referring to the U.S. naval base in Cuba where terrorist suspects are held. "We do not do things that are inhumane. This is our guarantee."

The round-up follows the end on Monday of a four-month amnesty that allowed about 400,000 illegal migrants to leave Malaysia without punishment. Immigration officials said they had checked 5,521 foreigners and arrested 563 of them.

Among those detained were 370 Indonesians, 108 Filipinos, 18 from Myanmar, 16 Thais, eight Bangladeshis, four Nepalese, three Pakistanis, and two each from India and Vietnam, AFP reported.

Malaysian officials estimate 200,000 to 400,000 illegal immigrants remain, willing to run the risk of a fine and jail or a caning for men younger than 50, in return for jobs that pay better than those they might get at home.

Reuters reported that Azmi would issue work permits to 10,000 asylum-seekers who have been living in Malaysia illegally, and exempt them from arrest and deportation.

Also arrested were two Malaysian employers who hired illegal workers.

Azmi said illegal migrants from Indonesia's tsunami-hit Aceh would not be deported. "We will be sympathetic and we will not send them back," he told AP.

Separately, immigration enforcement chief Ishak Mohamad said teams would check the hideouts of illegal migrants, including in forests.

"Due to the massive publicity on our preparations, they have deserted their colonies and settlements and gone into hiding," the New Straits Times quoted him as saying.

In Dumai, Riau, about 1,200 migrants arrived at the city's port, the head of Riau manpower office, Raja Erisman, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

In Malaysia, some migrants were stranded because their employers had not paid their salaries until it was too late to get tickets home before the deadline.

"There was one person who came to us today saying the immigration officials weren't letting him get on his flight, and we were able to talk to the authorities to let him go," said an official at the Indonesian Embassy.

"We've had calls for help from Indonesians and Indians who were unable to leave by the deadline," said Aegil Fernandes of Tenaganita, a group formed to protect migrants' rights.

Azmi said migrants held up by money problems would be allowed to leave.

"As long as they produce tickets as proof of their intention to leave, then they will not be detained. Let them go back to their countries," he said.