The Immigration Department will blacklist the name of Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at the country’s entry points if there is a request by the authorities to do so.

Immigration director-general Mustafar Ali (above) said, so far, there had been no applications from enforcement agencies such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) or police.

"This is an investigation by MACC. If there is (an application), the Immigration Department will implement the provision provided," he said when met at the Immigration Director General Cup ‘Sedia Berjasa’ Volleyball Championship at Universiti Tenaga Malaysia (Uniten) in Bangi today.

Mustafar said this when asked whether Zahid's passport was blacklisted after it was handed to the court yesterday.

The Bagan Datuk MP faced 45 charges of breach of trust, corruption and money laundering.

In the meantime, Mustafar also assured that the department’s passport production process for the public was not affected.

He said the department was always prepared to ensure the stock of passports was sufficient and always available.

In another development, Mustafar said the department had carried out 12,000 operations from this year until yesterday to combat illegal immigrants nationwide.

A total of 154,000 illegals were inspected and 38,000 were arrested while 1,100 employers were arrested and would be brought to court.

- Bernama