Five Indonesian Citizens Detained By Malaysian Immigration Related To Control Operations

PHOTO VIA BETWEEN

KUALA LUMPUR - Five Indonesian nationals, consisting of three men and two women, were detained by the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) during a curbing operation.

"Initial examinations found that all PATIs were suspected of having made a mistake in abusing their passports or permits and also not having valid passports to work in these places," said JIM Director General Indera Khairul Dzaimee as quoted by Antara, Thursday, June 17.

From the operation, said Indera, JIM has detained as many as 33 unidentified foreign workers (PATI) - consisting of 18 Bangladeshi men, seven Myanmar nationals.

Three men are Indonesian citizens, two women are Indonesian citizens, two men are Pakistani citizens and one man is Indian citizen.

JIM carried out operations to control retail shops managed by foreigners on June 14 and 15, 2021, when the country carried out a total lockdown or complete movement restrictions from June 7 to June 27, 2021.

"Operations were carried out on 16 retail shops around Bukit Sentosa and Dengkil, Selangor. As many as 14 Immigration employees from the QRT Unit for Operations, Investigations and Charges of JIM Putrajaya were involved in this operation," said Indera.

Inspections at all locations found cases of commercial permits owned and registered in the name of Malaysian citizens but allegedly being rented out to foreign nationals.

"When the operation was carried out, there were foreigners who tried to escape and made provocations. However, all these foreigners were successfully detained and the situation was under control," he said.

All PATI detained after the operation were taken to the Putrajaya Regional Health Center (PKD) to undergo COVID-19 testing before being placed at the Semenyih Immigration Depot, Selangor.

Among the errors identified were the absence of identification documents, overstaying of time, and misuse of permits -- acts that violated the Immigration Deed 1959/63, the 1966 Passport Deed, and the 1963 Immigration Regulations.

"A total of six local citizens were also issued a warning letter to attend to give information to assist in the investigation," he said.