Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
‘The government has to spend money to manage illegals detained at the depots as well as to send them back to their home countries,’ Home Affairs Minister Mohamad Radzi Sheikh Ahmad told cabinet members in parliament.
<P>A
total of 56,315 illegal immigrants were detained in 2006, and most have been sent
home, he said. However, he declined to give the exact number of those deported.</P><P>The
majority of the workers did not have valid travel documents, or had overstayed
their visas, Mohamad Radzi was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.</P><P>In
January this year, immigration authorities detained 5,999 illegal migrants and
placed them in detention centres nationwide while awaiting deportation.</P><P>Malaysia
is home to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries
such as Indonesia, Thailand, India and the Philippines.</P><P>The government has
in recent years launched numerous crackdowns on the workers, blaming them for
an increase in crime rates.</P><P><I>Source: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/asiapacific/news/article_1283320.php/Malaysia_spent_almost_1_million_dollars_to_deport_migrants</I>
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