A total of 7,043 undocumented immigrants from various countries were arrested in Malaysia between 1 January and 19 February, the Immigration Department has revealed.
Deputy Director-General (Operations) Datuk Lokman Effendi Ramli said the arrests resulted from 1,855 operations conducted by the Immigration Department (JIM), during which 30,177 individuals were screened.
He noted that the eight nationalities with the highest number of arrests were Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, India, and China.
“The most common offence was under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, involving 4,804 cases of individuals staying in Malaysia without valid passes or travel documents. There were 1,250 cases under Section 15(1)(c) for overstaying, 806 cases under Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963 for violating pass conditions, and 183 cases involving other offences,” he said in a statement today.
Datuk Lokman emphasised that enforcement operations will continue to be intensified, focused, and uncompromising towards any violators.
He also urged the public to provide information on any immigration offences to authorities to support more effective enforcement efforts.
