Zahid: African students marrying locals for citizenship

DPM calls for strict enforcement on those abusing student visas, proposes to tighten conditions of entry into the country to tackle crime.

KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today that there are Malaysian women willing to be the wives of African students to help them obtain Malaysian citizenship and licences for premises in the country.

He said the licence was a right of Malaysian nationals and African students married local women to gain that right.

Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said cooperation between state governments and local authorities was necessary to identify those who abused the licences.

He was commenting on the influx of African nationals and the proposal to tighten conditions of entry into Malaysia for foreign students.

He said it was unfair to accuse all African students in this country as criminals because only a handful of them were involved in criminal activities.

“There are a few who abuse the student visa to commit crime in the country. They enrol in language centres, but do not study. They turn their homes into laboratories to process drugs,” he said at a media conference after officiating the 2016 Priority Declaration Programme entitled ‘Economy Is Our Priority’ here today.

Zahid said the Special Tactical Intelligence Narcotics Group (STING) and the Special Task Force On Organised Crime (STAFOC) had made a few arrests involving African nationals.

On the proposed Regional Digital Counter-Messaging Communications Centre (RDC3), he said the equipment for the centre was currently being acquired.

“We have learnt about what has been done in Dubai. Our senior officers who are involved are undergoing the training programme,” he said.

The RDC3 aims to fight the spread of the Islamic State militant group’s ideology and propaganda via the Internet.

– BERNAMA