KOTA KINABALU: The repatriation of approximately 8,678 illegal immigrants in Sabah to their countries of origin was carried out by the Sabah Immigration Department of Malaysia (JIM) throughout last year.
According to the Director of the Sabah Immigration Department, Datuk Sharifah Sitti Saleha Habib Yusoff, the repatriation program is consistently conducted at least twice a month.
She said the delivery process was carried out 83 times, with 41 sea categories and 42 air categories.
“As of January 25 this year, a total of 1,529 immigrants have been repatriated,” she said.
Sitti Saleha emphasised that there is no longer congestion at the detention depot, as the situation only occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic when the Philippine government refused to accept their citizens due to closed borders.
However, after the transition to the endemic era, congestion no longer exists, she added.
She said the number of detainees per depot is now below 700.
Sitti Saleha also highlighted that last year recorded the highest number of operations in terms of arrests, with a total of 1,463 operations conducted, resulting in the checking of 30,918 migrants and the detention of 4,108 individuals.
Additionally, 22 employers were charged with various offences, she said.
Operations were carried out in slum areas, referred to as ‘hotspots’, with a focus on Semporna, Lahad Datu, and Sandakan.
“Daily operations, particularly during traffic enforcement near the hotspots, are conducted by a dedicated team in the district.
“Integrated operations involving other agencies are planned for carrying out operations in these hot areas,” she said.
