PALMOILMAGAZINE, SHAH ALAM – On Sunday (18/2/2024), the Malaysian Government conducted a raid on an illegal settlement located in Shah Alam, Selangor, where many Indonesian individuals were residing. The Malaysia Immigration Department successfully apprehended a total of 132 illegal immigrants during the operation, with 130 of them being Indonesian nationals. Among the detained individuals were 76 men, 41 women, and 13 children, including a nine-month-old infant, while the remaining detainees were Bangladeshi nationals.
This illicit community was situated within palm oil plantations in Setia Alam. Jafri Embok Taha, the Vice General Director (Operational) of Immigration Malaysia, stated that based on intelligence reports and complaints from the public, this illegal settlement had been in existence for the past four years and had access to electricity.
Jafri speculated that the illegal immigrants may have been renting the area from local residents who also provided electricity to the community. The malefactors were allegedly paying approximately 6,000 Malaysian ringgit per month for a 0.6-hectare area. The raid was conducted late at night, commencing at 02:38 in the morning.
Also Read: Eliminating Illegal Palm Oil Plantations: A Critical Governance Challenge in Indonesia
“In the illegal community, there were groceries, places to get food, to worship. Many foreigners work as cleaning services, restaurant waiters, and building workers around where they lived,” Jefri said, as Palmoilmagazine.com quoted from Bernama.
During the operation, some illegal men tried to go way by climbing the roof and even locked up themselves in their houses so that the officers would not arrest them. It also involved 220 personals from many instances, including from general operational force and National Registration Department. The case is now investigated according to Immigration Law 1959/63.
Jafri also told that every Indonesian people arrested in the raid, has no legal documents but stayed for too long in Malaysia. The land owner would also be investigated according to every available regulation.
He also warned the people and stakeholders not to accept illegal immigrants because they would face the laws. This reflected the challenges that many countries face with illegal immigrants and law enforcement in the borders. (T2)
