Parliament: Only 1% of crimes are committed by foreigners, says Wan Junaidi

KUALA LUMPUR: Only one percent of the crimes in Malaysia are committed by foreigners, says Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

He said the remaining 99% of crimes reported were committed by locals.

"We have 12 depots to hold illegal immigrants in the country including in Malacca, Semenyih, Langkap, Bukit Jalil and KLIA. Some of these are already full," he said Tuesday during question time in Parliament, in reply to a supplementary question by Datuk Seri Abdul Ghapur Salleh (BN - Kalabakan).

Abdul Ghapur had asked if the ministry planned to build more depots to detain illegal immigrants rather than let them roam around the country freely.

In his response, Wan Junaidi said the Government was currently studying and planning what it can do to tackle the large number of illegal foreigners in a holistic way.

"Some come to Malaysia to study but drop out of learning institutions and do other things instead. If they do not return to their country, they become illegal immigrants," he said.

He said all Malaysians needed to play their part in addressing the problem of illegal foreigners by refraining from sheltering, hiring or renting properties to them.

"It is undeniable that our own people are the culprits by prioritising their personal interests instead of the safety of our country," Wan Junaidi said.

He said this was proven when 25 employers were caught during the total 330 operations conducted between May 23 and June 17.

A total of 2,179 illegal foreigners were detained during the operations.