Abuse, graft cases involving illegal immigrants not serious: MACC

Abuse and corruption cases involving illegal im mi grants in Sabah are not serious, despite the negative perception by the public towards the agencies involved, Malay sian Anti-Cor ruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan said.He said Malaysia’s pros perity and political stability had prompted foreigners, especially from neigh bouring countries, to come to the country to make a living, adding that there were an estimated 1.7 million foreigners in Sabah alone.

He said measures had been taken by the relevant authorities to curb the presence of illegal immi­grants in the country and these included operations to detain and deport them to their countries of origin and stepping up patrol at entry points and along the border.

“However, illegal immigrants continue to enter the country and this situation creates a negative perception among local residents that they (illegal immigrants) are protected by the enforce ment agen cies,” he said at the closing of an anti-corruption se minar here yesterday.

The seminar is attended by about 60 participants from various enforcement agencies, including the National Registration Depart ment and the Malaysian Maritime Enforce ment Agency.

Ahmad also said the efforts to curb corruption had been effective with more people detained for offering bribes instead of enforce ment officers for accepting the bribes.

“This shows an aware ness among govern ment officers of the dangers of corruption and among the public for lodging reports,” he added.

On a question pertaining to forged documents obtained by illegal immigrants, he said it did not involve participation of officers from the National Registration Department.

Bernama

Bid to enter M’sia using fake medical chits foiled

The Tawau Marine Operations Force foiled an attempt by 29 Indonesian nationals to enter the country in a passenger ferry using fake medical chits.The officer-in-charge of Tawau Marine Operations Force, DSP Husaini Zainal Abidin, said the illegal immigrants, aged between 20 and 30, including two women, were

detained in a passenger ferry after they failed to produce valid travel documents.

He said while patrolling during the ‘Ops Octopus’ at about 11.50am in the Sungai Tongkang waters, the Marine personnel inspected a passenger ferry coming from the

direction of Nunukan and found that all the illegal immigrants had doubtful ‘employers leave’ only.

“Further investigation carried out revealed that all the medical leave claimed by the illegal immigrants as being issued by an estate plantation in Lahad Datu were fakes,” Husaini told reporters, here yesterday.

He said the illegal immigrants admitted having bought the medical chits for 450,000 Rupiah or about RM150 each in Nunukan as one of the tactics to deceive the Malaysian authorities. — Bernama

The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) yesterday called on the Labour Department to prosecute employers who continue to deduct levy from salaries

The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) yesterday called on the Labour Department to prosecute employers who continue to deduct levy from salaries of their foreign workers.

According to MTUC vice-president, A. Balasubramaniam, hundreds of workers have been “cheated “ by errant employers who continue to deduct the levy from their salaries although they have renewed their work permits after April 1, the date from which the levy was to be entirely borne by employers.

Prior to this, employers were allowed to pay the levy up front and later make monthly deductions from their workers’ salaries.

Balasubramaniam said that last week, about 2,500 foreign workers at a glove making factory in Klang staged a five hour “strike” in protest of the management’s deduction of the levy from their salaries.

Similar complaints were also received from various parts of the country, he told Bernama.

Labour director general Datuk Ismail Abdul Rahim meanwhile said that his department was continuing to be vigilant and was conducting checks on all establishments to ensure that there were no illegal levy deductions.

He said that employers were allowed to continue making deductions for workers who were employed prior to April 1, but this was only until the expiry of the work permits.

For all renewals and new employees after April 1, the employers should pay for the levy, he added.

He advised workers whose levy was still being deducted after the renewal of their permits to report the matter to the labour office.

He said that the rationale of making the employer pay for the levy was to discourage them from taking foreign workers.

The levy, paid annually, varies from sector to sector, with RM1,200 per foreign worker for the manufacturing and construction sector,RM1,800 for restaurants and RM360 for maids.

Cubaan masuk 29 Pati gagal

Pasukan Gerakan Marin (PGM) Tawau menggagalkan cubaan sekumpulan 29 rakyat Indonesia untuk memasuki negara ini melalui feri penumpang menggunakan surat cuti palsu.

Pegawai Pemerintah PGM Tawau, DSP Husaini Zainal Abidin berkata pendatang asing tanpa izin (PATI) berumur antara 20 hingga 30 tahun, termasuk dua wanita itu, ditahan dalam sebuah feri penumpang selepas mereka gagal menunjukkan dokumen perjalanan yang sah.

Katanya ketika membuat rondaan Ops Octopus kira-kira jam 11.50 pagi di sekitar perairan Sungai Tongkang dan memeriksa sebuah feri penumpang yang datang dari arah Nunukan, kesemua PATI berkenaan cuma memiliki surat "cuti majikan" yang mencurigakan.

"Siasatan lanjut yang dijalankan mendapati kesemua surat cuti milik PATI yang didakwa dikeluarkan sebuah syarikat perladangan di Lahad Datu itu adalah palsu," kata Husaini kepada pemberita di sini hari ini.

Menurut Husaini PATI berkenaan mengaku membeli surat cuti berkenaan di Nunukan sebagai salah satu taktik untuk mengelirukan pihak berkuasa Malaysia dengan harga 450,000 Rupiah atau kira-kira RM150 setiap satu.

Bagaimanapun, Husaini berkata pihaknya boleh mengesan sama ada dokumen tersebut sah atau palsu, dan kesemua PATI berkenaan ditahan mengikut Seksyen 6 (1)(c) Akta Imigresen.