A total of 351 undocumented migrants from Indonesia and the Philippines have been deported to their home countries under the 7/2026 Migrant Detainee Repatriation Programme, bringing the total removals from Sabah to 3,990 individuals in the first six months of this year.
The repatriation exercise was carried out via sea routes involving detainees from the Kota Kinabalu, Papar and Sandakan Immigration Depots. A group of 213 Indonesian nationals were transported through Tawau Port before being ferried to Nunukan Port using Francis Express and Labuan Express vessels.
At the same time, 138 Filipino detainees from the Tawau Immigration Depot were repatriated via Lahad Datu Port to Bongao in Tawi-Tawi using commercial ferry services.
Sabah Immigration Department Director Datuk Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof said the group comprised 235 adult men, 58 adult women, 30 boys and 28 girls, with ages ranging from one to 75 years old.
She added that all children involved in the programme were accompanied by their parents or guardians throughout the process, ensuring proper welfare arrangements during the transfer exercise.
Authorities confirmed that all detainees had completed their sentences under existing laws and were issued with valid travel documents or Temporary Travel Documents (SPLP), allowing them to be legally returned to their countries of origin.
Since the beginning of the year, a total of 2,578 Filipinos and 1,207 Indonesians have been deported under the ongoing enforcement programme, which continues to be implemented in stages across detention facilities in Sabah.
The Immigration Department of Malaysia has also reiterated its commitment to intensifying enforcement actions against employers found hiring or sheltering undocumented migrants, with offenders facing fines of up to RM50,000, imprisonment, and possible caning upon conviction under the Immigration Act 1959/63.
