Enforcement Process Under 6P Programme Starts Earlier

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 1 (Bernama) -- The Home Ministry has started the enforcement process (post-registration) under the 6P Programme on Oct 20, by focusing on illegal immigrants and unregistered employers. Its minister, Hishammuddin Hussein said the enforcement process was launched earlier in line with the decision made by the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants to take immediate stern action. "A total of 193 illegal immigrants were arrested in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Johor between Oct 20 and 28 for not having any registration document issued during the registration process. "Apart from that, actions had also been taken against five employers for the similar offence," he told a press conference after chairing a meeting with state immigration department directors here on Monday. He said the enforcement process (post-registration) would be conducted throughout the legalisation process and followed by enforcement process (post-legalisation) which would be launched in a larger and more comprehensive scale. Hishammuddin said the enforcement process would also be improved using the newly introduced National Enforcement and Registration System (NERS), which would enable the status of a foreigner be checked in real time. "Among the information accessible by the enforcement officer are the foreigner's profile, employer, photograph, whereabouts, expiry dates for passes and permits, as well as home address and work address. "The system can prevent identity and travel document forgery. For foreigners who did not bring their documents, their status can still be checked immediately through the biometric data," he said. On the legalisation process which began on Oct 10, Hishammuddin said 27,514 illegal immigrants had been legalised (legally registered), involving 2,208 employers nationwide as at Sunday. Throughout the process, he said the government had also implemented the amnesty process, involving the illegal immigrants who had registered to leave the country and those who surrendered voluntarily. "They can now deal directly with the Immigration Department to get their Check Out Memo without having to worry whether actions will be taken against them," he said. Hishammuddin said employers with urgent needs for foreign workers could apply to hire unemployed immigrants who had registered during the registration process. The list of those unemployed immigrants are available at the ministry's website at http://www.moha.gov.my, which also provides the complete guide for employers to make their application, he added. -- BERNAMA