The 12 detention centres used to detain illegal immigrants in the country is almost full and running out of space.
This was the honest admission by Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who said if more operations are carried out to detain the 1.3 million illegal immigrants in the country, there won't be any more place to house them.
Wan Junaidi was answering a question by Setiu MP, Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh at the Dewan Rakyat today. His answer prompted a furious reply from Kalabakan MP Datuk Seri Abdul Ghapur Salleh.
Abdul Ghapur said Wan Junaidi's answer angers him and other MPs as it implies no illegal immigrants ought to be caught as the centres are full.
"The African immigrants come in using student passes but then they roam the cities. Why can't we come up with a system to vet if they had really obtained legitimate seats in such universities?," he asked adding that it is high time for enforcement agencies to be increased.
Wan Junaidi replied the maximum capacity for one detention centre is 8,250.
"The government will think on what to do if all the centres are full," he said adding that statistics show only 1 per cent of illegal immigrants were involved in crime while 99 per cent of crime were done by local citizens.
Meanwhile, Wan Junaidi also said the government has carried out various measures to curb the illegal immigrants menace including conducting joint enforcement operations with other agencies regularly.
"The government also has increased the monitoring at the coastal areas which has been identified as one of the entry points for illegal immigrants," he said.
He said twenty-five employers were found to have hired 2,179 out of the 7,023 illegal immigrants detained in 330 operations between May and June this year.
"As long as Malaysians abet with illegal immigrants, it is difficult for enforcement agencies to stop them from coming in or flush out those who are already here," he said.
This was the honest admission by Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who said if more operations are carried out to detain the 1.3 million illegal immigrants in the country, there won't be any more place to house them.
Wan Junaidi was answering a question by Setiu MP, Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh at the Dewan Rakyat today. His answer prompted a furious reply from Kalabakan MP Datuk Seri Abdul Ghapur Salleh.
Abdul Ghapur said Wan Junaidi's answer angers him and other MPs as it implies no illegal immigrants ought to be caught as the centres are full.
"The African immigrants come in using student passes but then they roam the cities. Why can't we come up with a system to vet if they had really obtained legitimate seats in such universities?," he asked adding that it is high time for enforcement agencies to be increased.
Wan Junaidi replied the maximum capacity for one detention centre is 8,250.
"The government will think on what to do if all the centres are full," he said adding that statistics show only 1 per cent of illegal immigrants were involved in crime while 99 per cent of crime were done by local citizens.
Meanwhile, Wan Junaidi also said the government has carried out various measures to curb the illegal immigrants menace including conducting joint enforcement operations with other agencies regularly.
"The government also has increased the monitoring at the coastal areas which has been identified as one of the entry points for illegal immigrants," he said.
He said twenty-five employers were found to have hired 2,179 out of the 7,023 illegal immigrants detained in 330 operations between May and June this year.
"As long as Malaysians abet with illegal immigrants, it is difficult for enforcement agencies to stop them from coming in or flush out those who are already here," he said.
