MALAYSIA

181 nabbed in Cameron crackdown on illegal aliens, Zahid says

BY SYED JAYMAL ZAHIID NOVEMBER 13, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — Authorities have detained 181 people in the on-going crackdown on illegal immigrants at Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

Zahid said most of those arrested could only present papers issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), but not working passes necessary for employment.

“The raid is on-going... and we will take the necessary action and employers found to have employed the immigrants (illegally) will be punished as severely as possible in court,” Zahid told a press conference here.

Most of those detained so far are from Bangladesh while the rest hailed from Nepal and Myanmar, Zahid added.

Two days ago, the home minister said federal police personnel will be stationed in the Cameron Highlands to hunt down agents who have brought in illegal immigrants.

He added that there had been cases of foreign workers being cheated by the agencies who brought them into the country.

“In our early reports, we found that immigrants were deceived by their agents,” he said at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

“We will place our officers there and search for the agents because we do not want these human trafficking practices to happen.”

He said the agencies were not only involved in deceiving the foreign workers, but they also raked in high profits for jobs that do not have the required approvals.

Zahid said with the cooperation of the Attorney-General, immediate action against the agents would be taken if found guilty and a hefty punishment would ensue.

Malay Mail previously reported that the on-going clampdown there has affected businesses as immigrant workers have gone into hiding for fear of arrest.

Checks by Malay Mail yesterday revealed farms spanning four to five acres were manned by only one or two workers, instead of the previous three or four.

The crackdown began after the state government blamed illegal immigrants for the landslide that killed two people, pointing to illegal land clearing allegedly perpetrated by these workers.

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/ma....vvdPRWG7.dpuf