Only 41,673 illegal immigrants applied for E-card in Selangor

PORT KLANG: Only 41,673 illegal immigrant workers applied for the Enforcement Card (E-Card) here from Feb 15 up to yesterday, which is far below the 100,000 target set by the Selangor Immigration Department said its director Omran Omar.
He said of the total, 40,395 applications were approved while 1,278 applications were rejected after they were found to be in the department's blacklist or did not meet the E-Card application requirements.
"The most number of applicants here (Port Klang Immigration Office) were illegal immigrant workers from Bangladesh with 26,874 applicants, followed by Indonesia with 12,812 applicants, and Myanmar, 658 applicants.
"Those who work in the construction sector form the biggest group of E-Card applicants comprising 18,886 people followed by the manufacturing sector with 9,774 people, service (9,730) plantation (1,681) and agriculture (1,602)," he said at a press conference here today.
Omran said the Immigration authorities would launch a massive operation to flush out illegal immigrant workers as soon as the deadline for the E-Card registration expired at midnight today.
"We will not compromise with any illegal immigrants or employers found guilty. The Immigration Department has given employers and illegal immigrant workers nearly five months for them to apply for the E-Cards," he said.
Meanwhile, a check by Bernama found the Port Klang Immigration Office crowded with about 1,000 illegal immigrant workers who came as early as 4am to register for the E-Card at the very last minute. — Bernama