Malaysia Cannot Be Regarded Willing Host To Illegal Immigrants

KUCHING (Sarawak, Malaysia), May 16 (Bernama) –– Malaysia cannot be regarded as a willing host of illegal immigrants because their resence can create security problems, Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Friday. He said the influx of illegal immigrants could also give rise to health problems in the country. Diseases like Tuberculosis, as well as Hepatitis B, C and D were no longer prevalent in the country since decades ago, but had re-emerged following the arrival of illegal immigrants, he told a media conference after giving a talk at the "INTAN Ministerial Talk" programme here Friday. He was commenting on last Sunday's incident where several boats with 1,158 illegal immigrants, comprising Bangladesh nationals and Rohingya from Myanmar, landed in Langkawi. Wan Junaidi said it was the responsibility of agencies, like the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and the Royal Malaysian Navy, to patrol the country's waters to thwart the entry of illegal immigrants. On the illegal immigrants who landed in Langkawi last Sunday, he said they had been sent to the Immigration Depot in Belantik on mainland Kedah state. He said the Malaysian authorities were contacting the Bangladesh and Myanmar missions to process the documents of the foreigners concerned so that they could be deported to their respective countries of origin. We are also working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify those who could be classified as 'refugees', he added. -- BERNAMA