A total of 82 undocumented migrants from Indonesia, including five women, were deported to their homeland via the Tawau Port in Sabah to Nunuka, in the republic today.

The National Security Council (NSC) director in Sabah, Sharifah Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof said in a statement today that the action is proof of Malaysia’s commitment to ensure the undocumented migrants could return home and enjoy their rights to normal life in their own country.

She said it is the Malaysian government’s hope for neighbouring countries, including the Philippines, to cooperate by agreeing to receive back their nationals who are deported from the country.

She said the deportation of the undocumented migrants was conducted with the cooperation of the Immigration Department, the Health Department, the police, and the relevant agencies.

Meanwhile, she said a total of 3,753 undocumented migrants had been deported this year from Sabah, including to China, Pakistan, and Vietnam.

She added that the number of undocumented migrants deported from Sabah to their respective country of origin since 1990 was 594,920 people.

- Bernama