No extension for June 30 E-Kad deadline to register illegal workers
21 June 2017 Print page
Starting July 1, there will be massive operations to flush out illegal foreign workers in the country, says Immigration Department.
PUTRAJAYA: Immigration Department director-general Mustafar Ali says the June 30 deadline for applications for the enforcement card (E-Kad) to enable the employment of illegal immigrants will not be extended.
He said on June 28, 29 and 30, the operations of E-Kad registration at immigration offices throughout the country would remain open until midnight to enable employers to register their workers.
“I am very disappointed as only 21,789 employers came forward to register their workers.
“The programme launched since Feb 15 is free and yet employers are still taking an indifferent attitude on the matter.
“Maybe they want to do it at the last minute, which will cause congestion at immigration offices in Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur.
“Maybe they are still hoping for an extension, but it will not happen this time,” he told a media conference on the E-Kad application here today.
Mustafar said starting July 1, there would be massive operations to flush out illegal foreign workers in the country.
The E-Kad programme was launched to enable illegal immigrants to obtain valid work permits after going through several procedures set by the home ministry.
According to Mustafar, the department had issued 118,491 E-Kads and registered 131,269 illegal immigrants from Feb 15 to June 18. The remaining number meanwhile were in the process of getting approval.
“The figure is far below our expectation of employers coming to register (their illegal workers).
“It is estimated there are one million illegal immigrants in the country, but the Immigration Department was targeting to register between 400,000 and 600,000 people via E-Kad.
“It appears the number is far from the target,” he said.
Asked if applications from employers were rejected, Mustafar said all applications would be reviewed thoroughly with the biometrics of employers and workers.
So far, he said only 4,616 employers were rejected because they had been blacklisted due to various worker problems in criminal activities or had yet to register with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM).
He said only five industries were allowed to apply for the E-Kad, and 63,186 had been issued to the construction sector. Others were for the service (32,521), manufacturing (10,477), plantation (5,716) and agriculture (6,591) sectors.
Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2017/06/20/no-extension-for-june-30-e-kad-deadline-to-register-illegal-workers/#sthash.ToXA7SNZ.dpuf