KUALA LUMPUR – Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban revealed that 347 employers were fined a total of RM5,977,500 in the first two months of 2026 for hiring and harbouring illegal immigrants.
He said the initiative reflects the department’s ongoing efforts to address employer non-compliance and ensure stricter adherence to the country’s laws.
“Our enforcement will focus more on employers because, as long as action is not taken against them, foreigners will feel it is easy to work illegally in our country.
“If all employers act responsibly and do not hire illegal foreign workers, I believe the pull factor for foreigners to enter the country illegally will be reduced,” he said at a press conference following an integrated operation at an iron factory in Balakong, Cheras, earlier today.
During a joint enforcement operation conducted with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) and the Department of Environment Malaysia in Balakong and Shah Alam, authorities screened 162 foreign nationals, of whom 133 were detained for various immigration-related offences.
The violations included failure to possess valid travel documents, overstaying, and misuse of passes.
Those detained comprised 131 men and two women, aged between 20 and 45.
“The group consisted of 11 Indonesians, 65 Bangladeshis, four Indians, 17 Myanmar nationals, 15 Nepalese, 18 Pakistanis, two Chinese nationals, and one Vietnamese,” he said.
In the same operation, JKDM officers confiscated several boxes of duty-unpaid alcoholic beverages and cigarettes believed to be linked to the detainees.
All individuals apprehended are being investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Passport Act 1966, the Immigration Regulations 1963, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
Zakaria added that last year, 1,939 employers were compounded, with total fines amounting to RM36,646,000. – April 8, 2026