PARLIAMENT A total of 2.1 million foreign workers have registered and been given a pass by the Immigration Department, said Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

However, most illegal immigrants in the country had registered under the 6P legalisation programme implemented earlier, he said.

He said the government was serious about the influx of illegal immigrants in the country, especially in Sabah, and had launched various operations to overcome the issue.

“Up till Sept 1, a total of 99 operations have been carried out in Sabah alone. As a result, 1,821 illegal immigrants were inspected and 532 others were detained under the Immigration Act,” he told the Dewan Rakyat in Kuala Lumpur today, in reply to a question from Shamsul Anuar Nasarah (BN-Lenggong).

The government, according to Wan Junaidi, had launched 331 operations nationwide between January and September to eradicate the problem.

During the operation, a total of 15 employers were detained to facilitate investigations, while up till September, this year, 9,620 illegal immigrants were deported.

Referring to a plan to use an I-Card to identify illegal immigrants, Wan Junaidi said a meeting was held before Aidiladha, which was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

“There are eight employment sectors in Malaysia and the plan is to provide eight cards of different colours to distinguish the sectors. The cost is also moderate because only the colours of the card vary.

“For a more sophisticated card with a chip that can detect the location of the illegal immigrant, the cost is relatively higher,” he noted.

- Bernama