Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed has decried an expose on the inner workings of the Malaysian migrant labour industry that made numerous allegations of corruption against his ministry.

The report, broadcast as part of Al Jazeera’s 101 East programme, is titled “Malaysia's Migrant Money Trail”.

It features several agents admitting that they regularly pay off Home Ministry and Immigration Department officials, including those in high-ranking positions, when bringing migrant workers into the country.

“These allegations are outdated and sensational in nature. We have taken action to stop the activities of agents at the Home Ministry and Immigration Department by implementing more transparent online applications since April 1, 2017.

“So the accusations in the Al Jazeera programme are late,” he said when contacted by Malaysiakini.

The Al Jazeera report featured an agent who said the official online portal “recognised his account” when he logged in and said he was always approved for any number of migrant workers he applied for.

The report also claimed that Synerflux, the sole company tasked with running the online system, had been awarded the contract without an open tender process.

Fake letters?

The video documentary featured another agent who showed off copies of letters allegedly sent by the Home Ministry to the Immigration Department, with instructions to speedily approve specific applications to legalise migrant workers.

Nur Jazlan questioned the authenticity of the letters.

“There is a lot of correspondence between the Home Ministry and Immigration. We are worried some of (the letters) might be fake.

“We are monitoring cases of fake Home Ministry approval letters created by unscrupulous agents to cheat migrant workers.

“We will investigate these alleged letters of instructions to find out the true causes,” he said.

The Pulai MP added that the Home Ministry was also monitoring the activities of foreign recruitment agencies which demand overpriced fees from foreign workers in their home countries to obtain work permits.

Immigration Department director-general Mustafar Ali has been contacted for comment.