Name & Shame

PUTRAJAYA: Employers caught hiring and harbouring illegal workers will be named and shamed by the Immigration Department.
Its director-general, Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali (pix), said yesterday a list of such errant employers will be made public at the end of the month.
"Action will be taken in stages against these offenders," he told reporters after attending a dialogue session with service industry personnel and employers yesterday.
Under Section 55B of the Immigration Act 1959/63, anyone found guilty of employing one or more illegal immigrants is liable to a fine of up to RM50,000 or jailed up to a year, or both, for each illegal employee.
On the number of companies on the list, Mustafar said he could not reveal such information at the moment as the matter was still being discussed with the Attorney-General's Chambers.
He reiterated his earlier warning that the Immigration Department will also freeze the assets and bank accounts of such employers in the industrial sector who hire and harbour illegal foreign workers.
Although such action had never been enforced, it is provided under Section 56(1) of the Immigration Act.
On another matter, Mustafar said Immigration officers who take bribes, as well as those offering bribes, will face the full brunt of the law.
Commenting on a report that a group of Immigration officers had accepted bribes of RM200 to RM2,500 to allow the entry and exit of more than 16,000 foreign nationals, he said the root cause lies with those who offer bribes.
"If no one is giving, then no one will take," he said, adding that four officers allegedly involved in the case have been charged while more are being investigated and monitored.
It was alleged that the group of 37 officers had collected about RM18 million in bribes from illegal immigrants.
"We will come down hard on those who give as well as our officers who receive bribes," said Mustafar, who pledged the department will be transparent and will not tolerate corruption.
"We have to clean up our act internally, but at the same time, we don't want people offering bribes to tempt our staff," he added.