2,861 Indonesian PATI will be sent home from June 6 - Ismail Sabri

A total of 2,861 illegal immigrants (PATI) from Indonesia will be deported through the first phase from June 6.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said, all of them had to undergo the COVID-19 Antigen RTK screening witnessed by representatives of the Indonesian Embassy before being sent home.

"The first batch of 450 PATIs will be dispatched with three flights to Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya on June 6, 2020 and will be followed by June 10, 2020 with the repatriation of 445 PATI to Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya.

"The repatriation process will also use the sea route, of which 1,294 PATI are scheduled to depart to Medan on June 22, 2020.

"The second phase will involve 2,623 PATI who will be sent home within two months," he said at a press conference here today.

According to Ismail Sabri, the decision was reached through a meeting involving the Indonesian Embassy with the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) and the Foreign Ministry on May 28.

Commenting on PATI from Bangladesh and Cambodia, he said JIM and Wisma Putra are currently in talks with embassies of both countries.

"JIM with Wisma Putra is in talks with the Embassy of Nepal and Bangladesh to repatriate 246 Nepalese and 2,476 Bangladeshi inmates at the Immigration Detention Depot.

"The Embassy of Cambodia has also expressed its willingness to welcome back 67 of its citizens who are in the Immigration Detention Depot," Ismail Sabri said.