KUALA LUMPUR: MCA has called for the nationwide crackdown on illegal immigrants to be postponed to prevent inconvenience to the people in the run-up to the Chinese New Year celebration.
The party also wished for a more transparent and systematic procedure to be implemented to ensure smooth operations for enforcement agencies and employers of foreign workers.
MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai (pic) said that currently, the enforcement teams rounded up all foreign workers — whether legal or illegal — and those with proper documents would only be released after proving their innocence.
He said such a procedure caused inconvenience to many traders, who also complained that their businesses were affected, especially during the busy shopping period leading up to Chinese New Year.
“S ome have been forced to temporarily close their businesses due to the lack of workers. We hope the Government can postpone the operation to help them through this festival,” said Liow, adding that party officials would meet the authorities over this soon.
Liow also told a press conference that the issue was discussed at the party’s presidential council meeting yesterday.
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