KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department has dismissed claims that Chinese nationals are “untouchable” following the detention of more than 20 of them during an enforcement operation at a shopping mall here on Thursday night (Feb 5).
Immigration deputy director-general (Operations) Datuk Lokman Effendi Ramli said enforcement action was taken against any foreign national found to have breached immigration laws, regardless of nationality.
“Anyone who commits offences under the Immigration Act and Passport Act will be detained and dealt with accordingly. There is no exception based on nationality,” he told the media.
He said the operation, codenamed Ops Selera and Ops Sapu, was launched after about a week of intelligence gathering in the area.
Datuk Lokman stressed that the operation was not aimed solely at Chinese nationals, noting that foreign nationals are present in many areas.
“Foreign nationals who enter Malaysia with valid passes and documents and who comply with regulations have no issues. What we are looking for are those who enter the country and commit offences,” he said.
He added that immigration officers interviewed several of those detained and found that some had been working at the premises for more than a year.
He reminded employers to exercise caution when hiring workers at their premises, warning that they could be prosecuted under the Immigration Act and the Passport Act for employing foreign nationals without proper documentation.
