85 Bangladeshis among 598 immigrants held in Malaysia

Malaysian immigration authorities apprehended 598 immigrants, including 85 Bangladeshis, during an enforcement operation at the Meru Market Complex in Klang on Saturday.

Malaysian immigration authorities apprehended 598 immigrants, including 85 Bangladeshis, during an enforcement operation at the Meru Market Complex in Klang on Saturday.

The operation, which began at 5.30 AM, saw some foreigners crawling into narrow drains to hide, while some climbed onto the roofs of shops to escape the authorities.

Immigration deputy director-general (operations) Jafri Embok Taha said some of the foreigners claimed to be United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cardholders to avoid arrest.

He said that 598 out of the 628 foreigners inspected, aged 17 to 57, were arrestedduring the operation.

Those inspected include 85 Bangladeshis, 530 from Myanmar, seven Indonesians, five Indian nationals and one Nepali.

Jafri stated that all those detained will be placed at the Semenyih immigration depot for investigation and follow-up action.

“Among the offenses identified were not having identification documents, violating pass conditions, overstaying, unrecognized cardholders and other breaches of the Immigration Act,” he said at a press conference after the operation ended at about 7AM today.

During the operation were Selangor immigration director Khairrul Aminus Kamaruddin and Klang mayor Abd Hamid Hussain also present.

The operation involved a total of 153 officers from various agencies, including the immigration department, national registration department, General Operations Force and Klang Royal City Council (MBDK).

Jafri said that authorities would continue conducting similar operations to detect, arrest, prosecute and deport foreign nationals who violate provisions under the Immigration, Passport Act 1966, Immigration Regulations Act 1963, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.

Separately, Hamid said that the city council believed that almost 50% of the 600 lots licensed by MBDK were rented out to foreigners.

He also added that the council will carry out further inspections to determine the actual number of lots involved to prevent the misuse of licenses.

“We are aware the facilities provided by MBDK are provided at a cheap price, so if someone resorts to ‘Ali Baba’ practices, they may rent them out to foreigners at a higher price to make a profit,” he said.