[ad_1]
PUTRAJAYA: Sabah’s terrain and vast territorial waters are among the main challenges facing the State Immigration Department in curbing the entry of illegal immigrants (PATI) into the country, said Director General of Malaysia’s Immigration Department, Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud (pix).
Other than that, he said, the location of migrant settlements in watery, hard-to-reach places made it difficult for immigration staff to arrest those who took refuge there.
“Another challenge facing Sabah immigration is gaining the cooperation of the public to prevent the entry of illegal immigrants, as well as the lack of public awareness that it is a crime to harbor or protect illegal immigrants.
“Most employers also prefer to employ PATI due to low wages, compared to local workers, especially in the plantation, agriculture, construction and service sectors,” he told Bernama.
Khairul Dzaimee said that since the Covid-19 pandemic, operations carried out by the department must comply with prescribed standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent law enforcement officers, as well as immigrants, from contracting the virus infection. .
“Illegal immigrants who are detained must also be sent to a transit quarantine center before being shipped and placed in the Temporary Detention Center,” he said, adding that the department, as well as other enforcement agencies, are seeking cooperation. public. inform about the entry of illegal immigrants to the country, and not protect them.
He said that the responsibility to prevent the entry of illegal immigrants into the country rests solely with the security forces, since it is also the responsibility of the community to safeguard the security and sovereignty of the country together.
“We call on the public to assist security forces and other law enforcement authorities by providing information on any border intrusion to the National Task Force hotline at 011-62511223,” he said. – Called
[ad_2]
