Migration Repatriation Programme to commence on March 1, says Home Ministry

The Star

The Migration Repatriation Programme will commence on March 1, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.  The Home Minister said this would enable undocumented foreigners to be sent back to their home countries without being prosecuted.  Read more at https://shorturl.at/hkuzL  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00 "In the ministerial paper, I have outlined the decision of the foreign affairs administration

00:08 between the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Human Resources.

00:13 I have chosen to share some decisions with the media.

00:22 Firstly, the freezing of the request for foreign workers last March

00:32 has been approved to be continued.

00:43 Why? Because the number of cities that have been approved, plus the registration of recalibration program,

00:52 when we process this, we can meet the needs of foreign workers.

00:58 So, the policy to freeze the request for foreign workers has been continued.

01:03 The Cabinet also agreed to establish a one-stop centre.

01:10 The Cabinet also agreed to have the lead agency under the KDN.

01:16 That is the decision today.

01:18 Previously, it was about clarity.

01:27 Previously, it was about the KDN personnel, but today, it is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

01:36 The Cabinet has agreed to process the request for foreign workers.

01:40 If the policy is to be continued, the city will be reopened.

01:44 If the city is reopened, we will have a step to speed up the process of the request.

01:53 From 29th of March, 13 days, to 15th of March, 7 days.

01:58 That is a significant reduction in the process of the request for foreign workers.

02:05 That is a reduction of 46%.

02:08 We have taken all the necessary processes.

02:13 The commitment that has been given is 15 months, 7 days.

02:18 We call it the process of the request for foreign workers.

02:22 The next decision that was agreed to, and admitted by the Cabinet,

02:28 is the program of repatriation of migrants.

02:35 The program of recalibration of migrants, which was terminated on 31st of December last year,

02:41 is a program to meet the needs of the workers.

02:49 But there are also those who are already here, but not in the category of fulfilling the workers' needs.

02:56 So, we have implemented the program of repatriation of migrants,

03:04 which the Cabinet agreed to start on 1st of March 2024,

03:09 which is about two weeks before Ramadan.

03:12 They will be allowed to leave after they have paid their compound.

03:18 They will be excluded from the application process.

03:22 We will invoke the Article 155, under Section 6(1)(c),

03:29 which includes Malaysia without proper documents,

03:35 and we will pay a compound of 500 ringgit.

03:38 We will also invoke the Article 15(1)(c),

03:43 which is the crime of living in Malaysia after termination of the term.

03:46 We will pay a compound of 500 ringgit.

03:49 We will also invoke the Article 39(b),

03:53 which is the immigration rule of 1963,

03:56 which is the crime of breaching the conditions with a compound of 300 ringgit.

04:00 So, this program is a program of repatriation of migrants,

04:04 which we will implement so that it can be used by those involved

04:10 to facilitate the repatriation of migrants.

04:13 The Cabinet also agreed to ensure that the government will re-enter

04:22 the process of consultation with the 15 countries of the source,

04:28 regarding the MOU.

04:31 We have an MOU with the sources.

04:33 Three countries, namely Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia,

04:40 contribute 77% to the foreign labor force in our country.

04:45 The Cabinet agreed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

04:48 that we will re-enter the process of consultation,

04:51 and review the terms and conditions that require improvement.

04:58 So, that is the decision that was agreed to through the paper that I presented,

05:05 in accordance with the joint decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

05:10 the KDN and all the people.

05:11 The MOU is a agreement.

05:14 It is not static, it is dynamic.

05:17 Now, we are guided by four things.

05:19 First, we want to speed up the process.

05:22 Second, we want to reduce the migrant cost.

05:26 Third, we want to focus on the aspect of ensuring the welfare of the workers

05:31 when they come here.

05:32 Fourth, we want to protect the interests of the employers.

05:35 So, based on these four principles,

05:37 we will review the MOU that we have signed,

05:40 to see whether the documents are sufficient

05:43 or can bring about the achievement of these four things.

05:46 That is the goal.

05:47 We will focus on three countries first,

05:50 because these three contribute 77%.

05:53 Any country that does not contribute to the four issues that we discussed,

05:59 we will back them up.

06:00 But, in principle, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs agrees

06:04 to include the MOU in the process of reviewing with the sources.

06:11 So, these countries have been included in the MOU?

06:13 We will notify them.

06:14 That is our decision.

06:16 We will notify them.

06:18 It must be bilateral, not unilateral.

06:21 [Silence]

Category

Transcript

Recommended