The Immigration Department has not imposed any restriction preventing former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi from travelling abroad.

Immigration director-general Mustafar Ali said Zahid’s name was not on the blacklist.

“I have checked the matter with the chief commissioner of the MACC and have noted that there is no order to prevent him from going abroad,” he said when approached by reporters during the "Op Mega 3.0" operation against illegal immigrants in the Lebuh Pudu area in Kuala Lumpur today.

It had been reported that Zahid would be giving a statement to the MACC tomorrow to assist in a probe into the use of funds from a family-run foundation.

Meanwhile, the "Op Mega 3.0" operation, which was launched in the federal capital at midnight, resulted in the arrest of 229 of the 1,672 immigrants checked for their travel documents.

Mustafar said the operation was launched nationwide following the conclusion of the rehiring programme at midnight.

“We will conduct comprehensive operations to flush out the illegal immigrants and the employers who are adamant in not recruiting migrant workers legally through the rehiring programme.

“This firm measure is necessary to overcome the influx of illegal immigrants in the country,” he said.

Mustafar said that 19,969 illegal immigrants of various nationalities had been arrested around the country between Jan 1 and yesterday.

The department had already taken legal action against 536 employers who had employed illegal immigrants and 9,854 illegal immigrants had been prosecuted up to yesterday and the rest would be prosecuted soon, he said.

He said Indonesians comprised the biggest number of illegal immigrants arrested, numbering 6,871 of the total detained.

Next were Bangladeshis, numbering 3,935; Filipinos, 2,011, and Myanmar, 1,990.

“The government will not compromise with any quarters in ensuring that employers and workers comply with the country’s laws,” he said.

- Bernama