Government to weed out illegals first
BY M. KRISHNAMOORTHYKUALA LUMPUR: The Government wants to ensure that all the estimated 1.2 million illegal workers in the country return home before the MyKad system is fully implemented by the end of next year.
Home Affairs Minister Datuk Azmi Khalid said for this reason it had given the 400,000 Rela members in the country the power to conduct operations against illegal workers and was now studying a plan to give similar powers to Rukun Tetangga members.
He said the Government had formed a special team, which was now undergoing training, to detain illegal workers.
Azmi said new laws on the recruitment of foreign workers were also being drafted and there would be amendments to certain legislations to curb the inflow of foreign workers and illegal immigrants.
He warned employers to expel their illegal workers or face hefty penalties.
“We are preparing the infrastructure to issue Mykad to foreign workers and once this is done it is easier to keep track of illegal workers and deport them. We hope to introduce MyKad for foreign workers sometime before the end of next year,” he told reporters after launching the Cardex Exposition here yesterday.
Azmi said MyKad, once implemented, would help the Government identify deported foreign workers who were returning to the country.
“With the MyKad, we can easily identify those who go out (of the country) with one name and later return with another name,” he said.
He said no agent would be allowed to recruit foreign workers, except for domestic maids.
“There is a great exploitation of foreign workers for the construction, plantation and services industries.
“Malaysian agents pay foreign agents and they charge a hefty sum when recruiting workers in their countries. Some of these workers land in severe debts when they come to work in Malaysia,” he added.
On the implementation of the MyKad, Azmi said that the health and financial sector were sceptical about its applications and security.
“They are still studying the security implications before embarking on it,” he said.
News Poll
- Man posted doctored photos of Nik Aziz
- The world just got bigger
- Heartbreaking wait for mum
- Opposition leaders decry court’s ruling
- 5-0 for BN’s Zambry
- Thumbs-up for Najib
- Saiful files report over death threat
- WWF: Orang asli being used
- Give Zambry a chance, says Najib
- Fleet card cloning ring busted with arrest of trio
- 60 lose RM25mil in gold investment scam
- Man posted doctored photos of Nik Aziz
- PM to share CNY joy with folk of Kg Pandamaran
- Manila joins hunt for Semporna gunmen
- MAS offers CNY bargains
- Canberra to set new skills list
- Director and son claim trial to cheating and misleading investors
- WWF: Orang asli being used
- Ruling shows Sultan was right, says A-G
- Google's e-mail gets social in Facebook face-off
RSS
