Illegal Pinoys in Malaysia urged to return to PHL amid looming crackdown

Philippine officials in Malaysia are urging undocumented Filipinos there to voluntarily return to the Philippines in the face of a looming crackdown set to start on Jan. 21  by Malaysian authorities.

“Those who have no [legal] status in Malaysia are urged to make arrangements for their voluntary return to the Philippines,” Philippine Ambassador Eduardo Malaya said in a statement Thursday.

Malaysian authorities have indicated that those who will leave voluntarily will not be prosecuted but will still have to pay a fine for overstaying, Malaya said.

The Philippine Embassy reminded Filipinos to fully complete their immigration documentation and always carry proper identification documents in view of the crackdown on illegal foreign nationals.

Expected to be affected are foreign workers from Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, India, Bangladesh and the Philippines, which comprise the biggest foreign labor workforce in Malaysia.

Malaysia is home to thousands of Filipinos, many of them undocumented and residing in Malaysia-controlled Sabah, a resource-rich territory that is also being claimed by the Philippines.  

Every year, hundreds of Filipinos enter Sabah through Mindanao in search of a better life.

Most of the undocumented Filipinos in Sabah hail from Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and other far-flung provinces in the south that are among the Philippines’ poorest and constantly plagued armed conflicts.

Those who will be caught, Malaya said, will be detained while undergoing deportation proceedings, and will be subjected to biometric fingerprint registration to ensure they would not be able to return to Malaysia under a different name.

Malaya reminded those who wish to work in Malaysia to make sure they have approved work permits or similar papers before they start their work in there.

“We would like to remind our nationals to make sure that their immigration or work documents are in order, and to carry with them proper documents, notably work permit or passport with valid visa, to avoid inconvenience in case of immigration checks,” Malaya said.

He also asked employers and agents to hand over any passport and other identification documents to their Filipino employees for the workers' safety and protection.

Malaysia, which announced the second wave of crackdown in Jan. 10, recently banned foreign workers from working in fast-food restaurants at it moved to prioritize the hiring of locals.

An initial crackdown against undocumented foreign workers was enforced on Sept. 1, 2013. —Michaela del Callar /LBG, GMA News

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