HUNDREDS of foreign workers at a hostel in Cyberjaya were detained last night in a raid conducted by the Immigration Department in an operation to weed out undocumented foreigners. 

The raid follows Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin’s recent announcement that undocumented migrants would be rounded-up during the 14-day lockdown period.

This had led to critics to slam the home minister for ordering such an operation, which could derail the nation’s Covid-19 herd immunity plans under the vaccination programme. 

Director-general of immigration Khairul Dzaimee Daud told reporters at the scene that from 202 foreign labourers screened, only 46 of them were released while 156 others were apprehended for not having valid documentation. 

“We released 46 of them as they have proper papers and 156 were detained. We are taking them to a Covid-19 screening centre first. 

“There are 144 male foreign workers and 12 women. A total of 42 of them are Indonesians; 62 Bangladeshis; 20 Nepalis; 29 Myanmar and a man each from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka” he said. 

Opposition lawmakers also hit out at Hamzah, who had asked the the public to report on illegal immigrants and undocumented migrants in their neighbourhoods.

Among them was Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah, who described the minister’s act as totally unacceptable and disgraceful.

She accused him of having gone obsessive and irrational over the need to arrest and/or detain these immigrants, adding the foreigners were not animals nor criminals, but human beings.

On the early morning raid, Khairul said several foreign workers were playing cards and drinking tea when his men raided the workers’ quarters.

He revealed the living conditions of the workers were deplorable and did not comply with standards set under the amended Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990.

“The accommodation is cramped and dirty. There is no proper sanitation and it is not up to the standards required under the law.”

Khairul said his department will continue to carry out raids even during the total lockdown.

“We will continue to carry out similar operations based on the standard operating procedure set by the government.”

“We are only going to arrest undocumented workers. Those with valid documents will not be detained,” he said.

The total lockdown has been enforced from June 1 till 14 to bring down the number of Covid-19 cases to free up beds in hospitals, which are at breaking point. The country’s death toll is also rising with 87 fatalities reported yesterday, taking the total to 3,378.

Malaysia’s caseload currently stands at 616,815, with 6,241 new cases reported yesterday. – June 7, 2021.