Ministry: Ignorance no excuse for hiring illegals

JOHOR BARU: Claiming ignorance or not having enough time will not be accepted as an excuse to hire illegals, said Datuk Seri Alwi Ibrahim.

The Home Ministry secretarygeneral said that stern action would be taken against such employers if illegals were caught in their premises.

“We have given employers time to register their foreign workers since February this year.

“They have to be responsible for their actions and not give any more excuses,” Alwi said when met during the Hari Raya open house of Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed here.

Alwi said that the crowds only started building up several days before the June 30 deadline to register illegal foreign workers through the ECard programme.

Following this, the Immigration Department launched a nationwide crackdown to round up all illegal workers.

On whether the ongoing operation might hurt some industries, Alwi did not rule out that possibility but stressed that ample time had been given.

“Employers can still submit their applications online to source for workers from countries which have been approved by the ministry,” he said.

As to how many employers have had action taken against them so far since the nationwide crackdown, he said the latest figures are still being tabulated and that operations were ongoing.

Alwi urged employers to voluntarily hand over their illegal workers to the department for them to be deported.

So far, more than 3,500 illegal workers have been rounded up by the department during Ops Mega nationwide.

The ECard programme was launched on Feb 15 as a temporary confirmation of employment for illegal workers.

The Ecard replaces valid travel documents from the workers respective countries and only involves five sectors that need foreign workers.

We have given employers time to register their foreign workers since February this year. Datuk Seri Alwi Ibrahim