KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign embassies in Malaysia do not have the authority to issue any type of pass or document for their citizens to reside in the country, according to Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud (pic).
The Immigration director-general said the issuance of visas and passes to foreign nationals to live and work could only be issued by the Malaysian Immigration Department.
“We would like to emphasise that any outside party has no right to interfere with the sovereignty and laws of this country,” Khairul Dzaimee said in a statement, according to Bernama.
The statement came following a report by a migrant rights group that a settlement raided by the authorities in Nilai Spring, Negri Sembilan, last week was not an illegal colony.
According to Jakarta-based Migrant Care, the foreigners who were detained in the raid had been issued temporary visit passes by the Indonesian authorities, and the passes were allegedly valid for one year.
In the operation conducted on Feb 1, a total of 67 Indonesians between the ages of two months and 72 years were arrested for not having valid identification documents.
They were also found to be overstaying in the country and had committed other immigration offences.
Khairul Dzaimee said it was part of the department’s duties to carry out an operation and that should not be questioned by any outside parties.
“In fact, Malaysians are also penalised by authorities abroad when they are found to violate the host country’s immigration laws.
“Therefore, all parties must respect the rule of law of a country,” he said.
