Thousands deported in a three-month crackdown
More than 15,000 illegal immigrants were deported from Sabah in three months this year, a police spokesman said today.
A total of 15,852 people, mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines, were sent home between February and May, Sanali Amit told AFP from police headquarters in the state capital Kota Kinabalu.
He said 14,236 illegal squatter homes were torn down during the same period.
Sanali warned that more arrests would be made in the coming months, as police were intensifying efforts to flush out illegal workers.
"We will only cease the operations when there are no more illegals," he said.
The state-wide crackdown was launched February in Sabah's coastal areas, where thousands of Filipino workers were deported in the state's biggest ever offensive.
Police then launched a second phase of the operation to comb the inland districts.
Up to half-a-million Filipinos live in Sabah, many of them having entered illegally to work in the resource-rich territory.
Zero entry
The action in Sabah is in line with a tougher approach throughout Malaysia following the government's announcement in February that it would tighten coastal security in a bid to completely halt illegal entry this year.
Malaysia is home to about one million illegal immigrants and some 750,000 legal foreign workers, mainly from Indonesia.
While the government says illegal immigrants have contributed to a growth in crime and other social problems, the tough new line is also seen as a bid to protect jobs for locals in a time of economic hardship. - AFP
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