Illegal Immigrants in Malaysia - Crackdown, Amnesty, and Deportation

Crackdown, Amnesty, and Deportation

Since 2000, the Malaysian government has been trying to combat illegal immigration by imposing stiffer fines, and introducing caning for illegal immigrants arrested and those who employ them. Kosmo! reported that illegal immigrants only need to pay RM450 to either get into, or out of, the country by boat.

To accelerate the deportation of illegal immigrants, an amnesty program has been launched since 2004 for all illegal immigrants willing to go home. Under the program, illegals will not be imprisoned or suffer heavy fines. Illegal immigrants need to produce a valid passport or travel document, and must pay RM300 for compound and RM100 for a Special Pass. Illegal immigrants who approach immigration directly have to pay the standard compound, if they apply through Pangkal Rezeki Sdn Bhd, the company appointed by the Malaysian government with exclusive ability to register and process for the amnesty program. The company collects RM700 in total - RM300 for compound, RM100 for the special pass, and the balance for the commission and processing fee. Illegal immigrants can either approach the company directly, or go through a list of private agents all over Malaysia who might fix a price of between RM750 to RM1500. This amnesty program was called Program Penghantaran Pulang Pati (Major Repatriation Program), also known as 4P.

After the tsunami of 2004, the government announced plans to forcibly repatriate as many illegal immigrants as possible, with harsh punishments — including steep fines and heavy whippings — imposed on those who disobeyed or aided illegal immigrants in their efforts to remain in Malaysia. The original deadline set was February 1, 2005; by this date, 400,000 had already left voluntarily. Due to the effectiveness of their efforts, the government announced they would not launch the crackdown as planned, delaying it to an undetermined date.