Employers to blame for illegal foreign workers issue: Immigration DG

PETALING JAYA: The Immigration Department says irresponsible employers are to blame for the long-standing problem of illegal foreign workers in Malaysia.
Its director-general, Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali (pix), said it can be seen clearly from the recent Enforcement Card (E-Card) measure that many employers have been hiring illegal foreign workers with scant regard for the law.
This is deeply regrettable, he said in an interview with Sin Chew Daily published today in conjunction with his first anniversary as the immigration chief.
"The current situation is that when we enforced the law to arrest illegal foreign workers, employers complained they were short of foreign workers as a result. This means (these) employers have been employing illegal foreign workers all the while," he said.
He said if employers continue to risk arrest and hire illegal foreign workers, the problem of illegal immigrants will never be solved.
He said following the expiry of the June 30 deadline for employers to apply the E-Card for their illegal workers, the immigration immediately carried out nationwide raids to flush out illegals as well as arrest employers who harboured them.
"(When) I and my officers went to Pavilion shopping mall to round up illegal foreign workers, some people accused me of going there to cause trouble. I ignored such criticisms. The illegal workers picked up there included foreigners who were holding the student visa," he said.
Mustafar took a swipe at employers who cited the "high cost" of the illegal workers bleaching programme as the reason they refused to join the programme to legalise their illegal workers.
On employers' grouses that although the E-Card is free, they still have to pay a levy for their workers, Mustafar said the levy policy has been in place for years.
He stressed that the government will not extend the E-Card programme.
Those who had missed the deadline can opt for the 3-plus-1 programme by surrendering themselves and be repatriated after paying a RM400 fine.
He warned that if they are caught, they could be fined between RM1,000 and RM3,000.
They can also be taken to court and face a penalty of not less than RM10,000 in fine or a jail term, he said, adding that employers found guilty of harbouring these illegals can be fined RM5,000 for each illegal they have, on top of a jail term and whipping.