Malaysia cannot be seen as illegal immigrants haven

Deputy home minister says there are security and health threats to consider

KUCHING: Malaysia cannot be regarded as a willing host of illegal immigrants because their presence can create security problems, Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said today.

He said the influx of illegal immigrants could also give rise to health problems in the country.

Diseases like Tuberculosis, as well as Hepatitis B, C and D were no longer prevalent in the country for decades, but had re-emerged following the arrival of illegal immigrants, he told a media conference after giving a talk at the “INTAN Ministerial Talk” programme here today.

He was commenting on last Sunday’s incident where several boats with 1,158 illegal immigrants, comprising Bangladesh nationals and Rohingya from Myanmar, landed in Langkawi.

Wan Junaidi said it was the responsibility of agencies, like the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and the Royal Malaysian Navy, to patrol the country’s waters to thwart the entry of illegal immigrants.

On the illegal immigrants who landed in Langkawi last Sunday, he said they had been sent to the Immigration Depot in Belantik on mainland Kedah.

He said the Malaysian authorities were contacting the Bangladesh and Myanmar missions to process the documents of the foreigners concerned so that they could be deported to their respective countries of origin.

We are also working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify those who could be classified as ‘refugees’, he added.

Meanwhile, on the kidnap of a man and woman in Sandakan, Sabah, yesterday, Wan Junaidi said he believed it was masterminded by the Abu Sayyaf group.

In the 7.30pm incident yesterday, four armed men abducted a man and a woman from a seafood restaurant in Sandakan.

-BERNAMA