Malaysia plans amnesty for illegal labour

Malaysia aims to launch a nation-wide amnesty program in July to legalise up to 2 million illegal immigrants in the country, a senior government official said Thursday. Home Ministry deputy secretary-general Raja Azahar Raja Abdul Manap said the move would help the government better manage the growing population of foreign workers, meet labour shortages in certain sectors, boost security and reduce human trafficking.
Malaysia has become a magnet for people from impoverished or war-torn places looking for work illegally or seeking a transit point to enter other nations, such as Australia. Authorities estimate at least 2 million foreigners, many from neighbouring Indonesia, work in Malaysia illegally.
"The illegal immigrant population is growing rapidly and creating a lot of problems. Illegal workers are also depressing wages in the country. This amnesty exercise is part of the solution to manage our foreign workers," Raja Azahar told the Associated Press. He said a Cabinet committee will meet later this month to finalise details, including the proposed July 1 launch date. The committee will also decide whether the foreigners will be allowed to stay on legally once they are registered. The committee could decide to require them to leave the country and then return to become legal workers, he said. After the amnesty ends, authorities will launch a crackdown to sweep up any remaining illegal immigrants, Raja Azahar said. He said Malaysia held similar large-scale amnesty programs in 1996 and 2004. Legal foreign workers make up 2 million of the country's work force of 12 million.
Malaysia wants to cut dependence on foreign labour but has been unable to fill tens of thousands of low-paying menial jobs shunned by locals in this relatively wealthy Southeast Asian nation. Job opportunities have lured many illegal immigrants from poorer countries in the region, including Indonesia, Bangladesh and Myanmar. They work in palm oil plantations, factories, construction sites, restaurants and households.