Portal KSM

No decision on amnesty for illegal aliens
NST:17/07/2010

CYBERJAYA: Malaysia has not made a decision on whether to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants in the country.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said the government was currently studying the best way to manage the problem of illegal immigrants and workers.

However, he said it was willing to consider the expatriation of overstayers and undocumented immigrants in a bid to reduce their number, which now stood at over two million.

The amnesty, he said, was one of 51 proposals presented by the Home Ministry's Foreign Workers Management Laboratory recently.

"The proposals are being looked into. Although the problem is becoming more serious, at the same time we have been getting a lot of requests from the industrial sector which is facing a shortage of manpower," Dr Subramaniam said.

"In addressing this issue, we are trying to strike a balance that is acceptable to all parties."

He was speaking after launching the Limkokwing Creative and Innovation Academy here yesterday.

The amnesty proposal was mooted to go with a biometric system under which the thumbprints of illegal immigrants who were sent home would be electronically documented.

This would allow for more effective enforcement in the future.

The government has set a target of reducing the number of foreign workers in the country to 1.5 million in three years.

Dr Subramaniam also thanked Limkokwing University of Creative Technology president Tan Sri Dr Lim Kok Wing for allocating scholarships, valued about RM1 million, to 50 Indian students studying at the academy.

On the progress of talks on Indonesian maids, Dr Subramaniam said there were still issues to be ironed out.

"We have achieved understanding on many aspects, but there are no final decisions on the issue of their wages and the fee of agents in Indonesia.

"However, both governments have pledged to resolve these matters come August."

Since last July, Jakarta has stopped sending Indonesians to work as maids in Malaysia until a review of a memorandum of understanding on the workers is settled.

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