Illegals have tales of misery and victimisation to tell
PETALING JAYA: It is a struggle for Myanmar national Aung Aung, 44, even to pay for a single meal a day after he was dismissed from work. The former machine operator from Yangon said he could not re-register himself for a work permit after it expired in March. “I am worried that I will be deported. We are not looking for trouble in Malaysia. All we want is a job so that we could feed our families back home,” he said yesterday. Aung, who earned about RM50 per day, said he had paid some RM5,000 to agents to renew his work permit, but there was no response from them. His countryman Aye Nyie Aung, 33, said his work permit would expire soon. “Now, I am unemployed, and I have little money to renew my permit,” he added. Suherman, 34, an Indonesian who was apprehended for not having proper documents, claimed that his boss had tricked him into paying for a permit, but did not give him one.

1,600 illegals detained in nationwide swoop
THE crackdown on illegal foreigners kicked off yesterday as authorities in joint operations nationwide detained 1,598 people. About 135,000 personnel from Immigration Department as the lead agency, police, armed forces, Rela, Civil Defence, Anti-Smuggling Unit, National Registration Department and local councils swooped down on squatter areas, kongsi areas, worker's quarters located at construction areas and other areas in predawn operations nationwide. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the police and the Immigration Department would first look into those who had registered under the Illegal Immigrant Comprehensive Settlement Programme, or 6P, but did not turn up for processing, including legalisation and voluntary deportation.

Ops 6P: 2,433 illegal migrants nabbed within 24 hours of crackdown
PUTRAJAYA: A total of 2,433 illegal immigrants were nabbed by the authorities within 24 hours since the kick off of the Ops 6P Integrated Programme to crackdown on unwanted foreigners in the country. Those nabbed were among 8,105 people who were investigated by the authorities in 40 operations nationwide, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. “Among those arrested were 717 Indonesians and others from Myanmar (555 persons), Bangladesh (387 persons), and Nepal (229 persons). “The rest also included citizens of Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Philippines, China, Nigeria and Thailand,” Dr Ahmad Zahid said in a press conference Monday.

Nation’s biggest ever crackdown soon
PUTRAJAYA: Come Sunday, the authorities will be hunting down an estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants in the nation’s biggest ever operation to flush out unwanted foreigners.The operation will involve some 135,000 personnel from the Immigration Department, police, Armed Forces, Rela, Civil Defence, National Registration Department and local councils. The Immigration Department is the lead agency. The authorities will conduct raids mainly in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor which have been identified as the dens for illegals.

Migrant Worker
EMPOWER: To empower migrants, their families and communities throughout the migration process and build capacities of community based organisations (CBOs) and non-governmental organisations EMPOWER: To empower migrants, their families and communities throughout the

Malaysia urges Myanmar to stem anti-Muslim violence
(Reuters) – Malaysia urged Myanmar on Sunday to take stronger action to prevent persecution of Muslims and bring the perpetrators to justice, the latest sign that the inter communal violence is straining ties in Southeast Asia.Thousands of ethnic Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar to escape the violence and worsening living conditions, many of them making their way by boat or overland to Muslim-majority Malaysia.Anti-Muslim violence in Buddhist-dominated Myanmar erupted in western Rakhine State last year and has spread into the central heartlands and areas near the old capital, Yangon.

Thai Company Reinstates Burmese Workers after Protest
Charoen Pokphand (CP), Thailand’s largest food manufacturer, agreed on Monday to reinstate more than 160 Burmese workers it had fired from a seafood-processing plant in Mahachai, Samut Sakhon Province, after workers staged a protest on Sunday.

MFMW takes on unprecedented number of cases of illegal recruitment
An NGO in Hong Kong providing support services to migrant workers in distress today reported an alarming increase in the number of recruitment agency-related cases among foreign domestic workers (FDWs). In the summary of cases handled for the first quarter of the year, the Mission for Migrant Workers (MFMW) said that illegal collection of fees and overcharging by recruitment agencies emerged as the biggest burden of migrant workers in Hong Kong.