The Malaysian Immigration Department on Tuesday detained 306 Bangladeshi nationals for alleged immigration violations, while denied entry to 26 other Bangladeshis from entering Malaysia.
According to two separate reports by Malaysian state news agency Bernama on Wednesday, all detainees will face further investigation before being transferred to the Jawi Immigration Detention Depot, the report added, quoting Immigration Department Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban.
He was speaking to reporters after leading a raid at a factory in Simpang Ampat, Penang.
There are around 800,000 Bangladeshis working in Malaysia.
However, allegations of labour exploitation persist, both during recruitment and later by employers and agents.
Malaysia suspended Bangladeshi worker recruitment on May 31 last year amid allegations of irregularities in the hiring process.
Negotiations on resuming recruitment are underway ahead of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus's visit to Malaysia from August 11-13.
According to Bernama, the immigration department also said its officers continue to monitor daily airport operations, with the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency handling immigration counters and department staff assisting with intelligence and surveillance.
DG Zakaria assured the department will fully cooperate with the agency to remove officers found involved in misconduct, should any reshuffles be required.
Since 2022, 147 disciplinary cases have been recorded against immigration officers, with 55 resulting in dismissals.
One of the two reports of Malaysian state news agency said, the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) denied entry to 26 Bangladeshi men from entering Malaysia because they did not meet the requirements and attempted to enter the country using questionable reasons.
According to an AKPS statement, all those who arrived early Tuesday morning on two flights from Dhaka to enter Malaysia were intercepted by the AKPS Monitoring Team at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 on Tuesday.
"Based on intelligence information obtained earlier, the group used two flights, and their entry routes are believed to have been planned systematically with the assistance of certain parties.
"Upon arrival at the international arrival gate of KLIA Terminal 1, all of them were intercepted by the AKPS Monitoring Team as soon as they disembarked from the aircraft and were immediately escorted to the AKPS KLIA1 Operations Office for further screening," according to the statement.
The statement also said that the AKPS KLIA then issued an order for all of them to be sent back to their home country on the next flight.
"This success is the result of close cooperation between AKPS intelligence and monitoring units in preventing the entry of high-risk individuals who may threaten national security and public order.
"Such firm action will be continued as part of the commitment to strengthen the country's border control, especially at major entry points such as KLIA," said the statement.
Meanwhile, in ALOR SETAR, the AKPS issued Notices of Refusal of Entry (NPM) against 11 foreign nationals at the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration, Quarantine, Customs and Security Complex (ICQS) on Tuesday.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the AKPS said that enforcement action was taken after all the individuals were found to have committed various offences and failed to comply with entry requirements as stipulated under Section 8(3) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
All of the individuals who were denied entry comprised nine men and two women, who were Bangladesh, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka nationals.
"In accordance with the prevailing standard operating procedures (SOP), all foreign nationals were instructed to return to their country of origin through the same entry point immediately," it said.
AKPS said that it takes every attempt to enter the country without complying with the established laws seriously and will not compromise with any party attempting to exploit the country's immigration facilities.
It also said that firm action is part of AKPS's ongoing commitment to safeguard the country's border sovereignty and security from any form of threat.
"AKPS will continue to tighten control and inspections at all entry points to the country to ensure that only genuine and qualified foreign visitors are allowed to enter Malaysia," it added.
In another report of Bernama said, the Immigration Department (JIM) is ready to cooperate with the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) to address issues of misconduct involving its staff said JIM Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban.
He said discussions will be held with the agency if there is a need to transfer problematic officers stationed at the country's main entry points.
He explained that JIM has handed over full management of 22 key entry points in the country to AKPS, including Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), the Sultan Iskandar Building and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex in Johor, Penang International Airport (PIA), Kuching International Airport and Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
"However, we still have officers overseeing daily operations at the airports, so responsibilities such as counter setting and so on now fall under AKPS, while immigration officers provide support especially in intelligence, monitoring and related aspects.
"So if there's any need for a reshuffle, we will hold discussions with AKPS to remove officers identified as being involved in misconduct. We will fully cooperate," he told reporters after conducting an operation at a factory in Simpang Ampat here today.
He was responding to whether JIM would carry out a reshuffle of officers stationed at airports following the recent arrest of several officers believed to be involved in "counter setting' activities.
Zakaria said the success of the recent operation was due to cooperation between JIM and AKPS, with JIM providing intelligence to the agency and emphasised that action against problematic officers is continuous, not seasonal.
"Monitoring of officers involved in wrongdoing is carried out at all times. Statistics from 2022 until now show a total of 147 disciplinary cases involving immigration officers, of which 55 resulted in dismissal," he said.
As part of reform efforts, Zakaria said JIM is actively implementing digital transformation at the country's entry points, including expanding the use of the autogate system to reduce direct interaction between officers and travellers, thereby lowering the risk of abuse of power.
Earlier, Zakaria said during the operation, a total of 749 foreign nationals were screened and 307 were detained for various offences under the Immigration Act 1959/1963.
Of the total, 306 were Bangladeshi nationals and one was Nepalese, all aged between 20 and 40, and were found to have violated their pass conditions.
He said all of them have been detained for further investigation and will be sent to the Jawi Immigration Detention Depot.
