Over 6,000 illegal immigrants deported since Jan 1

KUANTAN: The Immigration Department (JIM) has deported 6,013 illegal immigrants to their home countries in the first three months of this year, said Deputy Home Minister I, Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Mohamed Said.

He said the move would enable the government save cost of almost RM100 per day to bear the cost of an illegal immigrant in the country.

"This does not include the cost of deporting them home. With the repatriation, we have managed to save the government's funds. At present, there are still 18,694 more immigrants in our detention depot.

"Besides, 3,581 illegal immigrants were detained from Jan 1 until last Sunday, with 285 of them being nabbed in Pahang," he said in his speech at the Home Ministry Malaysia Prihatin Programme here today.

Also present were Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan and Pahang Immigration director Muhammad Hatta Kassim.

Meanwhile, according to Ismail, a total of 82,340 frontliners from agencies and departments under the ministry have received their COVID-19 vaccination as of March 21.

He also said that the level of public compliance with the standard operating procedure (SOP) reached 95 per cent in Pahang.

-- BERNAMA