Home Minister Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad is a worried man. But his concerns are not anywhere near home but rather thousands of miles away.

He is concerned that a bug which will be unleashed in Germany on June 9, would find its way to Malaysian shores and his staff would catch the fever.

Today, when addressing his staff at the ministry's monthly assembly in Putrajaya, Radzi warned them of the dangers posed by the World Cup.

According to Bernama , he said they should not allow the 'fever' to affect their performance and lead them to neglect their duties and quality of services.

He also warned them that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi might drop by their office to conduct spot-checks.

Defends Rela blitz

In another development, Radzi defended last Sunday's action by Rela (voluntary corp) members in rounding up about 1,000 illegal immigrants during an operation in Rawang.

He said the Rela members acted on security reasons since a number of the immigrants were without identification papers.

"If foreign workers do not carry identity card, it is an offence. Just like Malaysians, if they do not carry their MyKad along with them, it is an offence," he said.

He was asked to comment on a newspaper report yesterday where a few companies and factories questioned the action by the Rela members for detaining their workers.

Radzi said the workers were detained because they could not produce their identification documents issued by the Immigration Department when requested by Rela members during the operation.

He said it was only after further checks it was discovered the identification documents of some of the workers were kept by their employers.

"The employers should have given the identification documents to the foreign workers," he added.