Sabah Immigration director Datuk Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yusof (in blue) speaks to detainees at the Tawau Immigration Depot following Ops Sapu, which saw 139 undocumented migrants detained.
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Immigration Department is set to seek assistance from the Communications Ministry to track down those responsible for leaking information about the department’s recent operations in Keningau via WhatsApp.
Its director, Datuk Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yusof, said the irresponsible dissemination of information, including photos of immigration vehicles and real-time updates on enforcement movements, had disrupted their operations.
“They even took pictures of our vehicles’ presence, and our movements were being closely monitored by their lookouts. The information was then shared in WhatsApp groups, alerting others about the operation in the area.
“We will track these individuals through intelligence efforts and seek assistance from the Communications Ministry. We are also working closely with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to resolve this issue,” she told reporters in Tawau on Saturday (Feb 22).
Sitti Saleha further suggested that some of those spreading the information could be foreign nationals with vested interests.
“If the individuals involved are Malaysians, then they are betraying the country by compromising national sovereignty. They are effectively acting as informants, warning undocumented migrants in advance and allowing them to escape enforcement action,” she said.
Meanwhile, in an immigration enforcement operation dubbed Ops Sapu, the department inspected 462 individuals in Tawau and Semporna on Friday and Saturday, resulting in the detention of 139 undocumented migrants for various immigration offences, including failure to produce identification documents.
The detainees, aged between one and 72, comprised 53 men, 37 women, and 49 children. All of them were taken to the Tawau Immigration Detention Depot for further investigation.
The operation, which ran from 10pm on Friday until 10.50am on Saturday, involved 66 officers and personnel members from the Sabah Immigration Department.
Sitti Saleha said all the detainees were found to have violated immigration regulations under Section 6(1)(c) and Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act for overstaying, while some were found to have misused their passes under Section 39(b).
She also warned that employers who hire undocumented migrants would not be spared and could face legal action.
“We want to remind employers to ensure that the workers they hire possess valid documents. If we look at this year's statistics alone, 32 employers have been arrested and charged for harbouring undocumented migrants. Last year, 117 employers were prosecuted and fined for similar offences,” she said.
She added that from January to December 2024, the Sabah Immigration Department has repatriated 8,844 undocumented migrants to their home countries, conducting deportations at least twice a month as part of continuous enforcement efforts.
