CYBERJAYA: Nearly RM140mil in compounds and fees have been collected from the Migrant Repatriation Programme 2.0, says Datuk Zakaria Shaaban.
The Immigration director-general said more than 275,000 illegal foreigners opted to return to their home countries via the programme.
“As of July 15, we have recorded a total of 275,755 participants from 114 countries. We have also collected fees amounting to RM137.7mil,” he said after attending the 104th Immigration Day celebration yesterday.
“If we rely solely on enforcement efforts, we will face issues of overcrowding at our depots.
“As such, we need programmes where those who surrender themselves willingly, we offer a reduced compound, and they are also allowed to return home the right way without having to rely on illegal routes,” Zakaria said.
The Migrant Repatriation Programme 2.0 is a voluntary amnesty initiative that allows undocumented migrants to return to their home countries without facing prosecution.
The programme does not apply to individuals who registered under earlier repatriation initiatives but failed to leave the country, those blacklisted by the department or individuals wanted by the authorities.
On another matter, Zakaria said a total of 63,475 Malaysian new upgraded international passports had been issued nationwide so far.
“Right now we are in the third phase of the implementation. Several of our offices have already issued the new version of the passport,” he said.
Previously, Zakaria said the new passport will be rolled out in phases across 71 offices nationwide.
The upgraded travel document is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the security of national identity documents, in line with Malaysia’s status as having one of the world’s most powerful passports.
He said the new passport features 94 security elements, up from 49 in the current version, making it more secure and difficult to forge.
Among the enhanced features are holographic elements, ultraviolet printing, hidden visual elements and specialised forensic security features.
Meanwhile, Zakaria said the crackdown on social visit pass abusers had led to the arrest of 451 foreigners this year.
Zakaria also dismissed claims that the alleged abuses involved mainly Chinese nationals, saying Immigration data did not support such claims.
“Our statistics show that the cases involve people from various countries. There are Indonesians, Bangladeshis, Myanmar nationals and others,” he said.
