Please emulate Indonesia, Nepal and Bangladesh to take home PATI - Ismail Sabri

Malaysia expects the governments of other countries to emulate Indonesia, Nepal and Bangladesh which brings home illegal immigrants (PATI) from detention centres in the country who were confirmed COVID-19 negative.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster), Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, said the Foreign Ministry had sent a formal note to all embassies from the countries of those illegal immigrants being detained in the Malaysian immigration detention depots.

"The government is grateful to Indonesia, Nepal and Bangladesh for agreeing to send back their people who are COVID-19 negative," he said at a press conference here on Thursday.

In a separate development, Ismail Sabri said 327 illegal immigrants and 41 boat ’tekongs’ were detained by security forces while attempting to illegally enter the country's borders through rat trails recently.

He said also detained were seven suspected smugglers and seven vessels.

He stressed that the government would not compromise with any party and would take stern action if they tried to enter the country illegally.

"We are serious in guarding the country's borders, especially in the rat trails, whether to evict or detain illegal immigrants.

"We have to act decisively since the COVID-19 cases in neighbouring countries are quite serious and if they come in, I fear they will produce a new cluster, the Import Cluster," he said.