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NST Leader: The Bangladeshi migrant challenge

NST Leader: The Bangladeshi migrant challenge

Most Bangladeshis who come to work in Malaysia have one aim: earn decent money and return home.
But an increasing number of them are in the country to start a syndicate or two or to be part of them, peddling fake immigration services or even sham marriages.
Their initial targets were their countrymen, but as their business grew, the net was cast wider, attracting other foreign nationals as clients or fellow peddlers.
The Immigration Department is rightly worried at the growing number of syndicates of such a nature. So must the nation be.
Only recently, the police arrested 36 Bangladeshi nationals in Selangor and Johor allegedly involved in militant activities in a series of raids that began on April 24.
They were alleged to be part of a network that was raising funds from Bangladeshi migrant workers for terrorist activities in Syria and Bangladesh, with the aim of overthrowing the governments there.
Of the 36, 15 have been deported and the rest have either been charged for terrorism offences or are under detention under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.
This may be a developing story for now, but it has a troubling past in the country.
In 2015, the police arrested five people for being involved in militant networks, one of whom was a Bangladeshi.
The following year, a Bangladeshi restaurateur was arrested for weapons trafficking following an Interpol alert.
In January 2017, two Bangladeshi nationals were arrested — one in Kuala Lumpur and another in Sabah — for alleged involvement with a terror cell in the Philippines.
The presence of the Bangladeshi syndicates and terrorist cells here points to at least two recurring issues: weakness in enforcement and corruption among officers.
One estimate puts the number of Bangladeshi migrant workers legally in the country at 900,000.
And we haven't even added the undocumented Bangladeshi workers being engaged by errant employers.
To be fair to our enforcement agencies, that is one huge number of people to keep an eye on.
But robust oversight can be made to happen at the beginning of the migrant workers' entry into and exit out of the country.
The first is possible by working with the government of Bangladesh in ensuring that only Bangladeshis with squeaky clean records are permitted to work in Malaysia.
Our embassy in Dhaka can provide the extra oversight. But that doesn't mean our enforcement agencies needn't keep an eye on them once they are here.
Even the squeaky clean can be influenced by ideology or money. The second is to make employers responsible for the exit of the migrant workers after their contracts end.
Employing locals will help, too.
Robust enforcement also means getting rid of the undocumented migrant workers of all nationalities in the country, estimated to be between 1.2 and 3.5 million as at December 2022 by the Malaysian Bar.
One of the reasons why there are so many undocumented foreign workers in the country is the prevalence of corruption among enforcement officers.
Two things need to be done to help curb it. One, recruit only officers with integrity.
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198 foreign travellers denied entry at KLIA in sweep
198 foreign travellers denied entry at KLIA in sweep

New Straits Times

timean hour ago

  • New Straits Times

198 foreign travellers denied entry at KLIA in sweep

SEPANG: A total of 198 foreign nationals were denied entry into Malaysia yesterday during a large-scale enforcement sweep at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The operation was part of ongoing efforts by the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA) to dismantle syndicates facilitating illegal entry. MCBA director-general Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the coordinated operation, carried out from early morning to 5pm at both KLIA Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, was executed with the support of behavioural profiling teams and stealth surveillance officers. "This operation demonstrates our commitment to blocking unlawful entry at the earliest point of contact, via the international main gateway," he said. At Terminal 1, he said officers intercepted 128 individuals. The majority comprised 123 Bangladeshi nationals (120 men and three women), along with two Pakistani men, one Syrian man, and two Indonesian nationals. They had arrived on flights originating from Bangladesh, Vietnam and Pakistan. Shuhaily said the travellers mostly failed to provide valid documentation, clear travel intentions, or proof of financial means during inspection. "These are classic red flags of non-genuine travellers. Many had no accommodation plans and could not explain their presence here, which strongly aligns with what we've observed in smuggling attempts," he said during a press conference at KLIA on Thursday night. An additional 70 passengers were denied entry at Terminal 2. They included 51 Indonesians, 13 Indians, four Pakistanis, and two Vietnamese nationals. "All individuals were designated Not-To-Land (NTL) under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and will be repatriated on the next available flights. Airlines are required to bear the full cost of return, in line with international aviation and immigration compliance protocols," he added. Shuhaily said the operation forms part of MCBA's "early interdiction" strategy, where officers are trained to detect suspicious individuals before they reach immigration counters, using behavioural cues, intelligence, and discreet monitoring. He added that ongoing surveillance had also disrupted "counter-setting" tactics where syndicates tried to bypass standard inspection channels. "This model works. Over the past month, we've successfully intercepted several waves of attempted illegal entries, which would have otherwise gone undetected," he said. Shuhaily said this was a long-standing problem that he intended to solve and address with the help of his officers in MCBA. He also attributed the success to the enforcement teams working tirelessly on the ground. Shuhaily stressed that while Malaysia remains open to genuine visitors, the country's border integrity must not be compromised.

Foreign syndicates arming travellers with photos of KLIA officers to evade detection
Foreign syndicates arming travellers with photos of KLIA officers to evade detection

New Straits Times

timean hour ago

  • New Straits Times

Foreign syndicates arming travellers with photos of KLIA officers to evade detection

SEPANG: In a troubling new development, enforcement authorities have discovered that foreign syndicates are now sending travellers to Malaysia equipped with photographs of Malaysian enforcement officers. This is believed to be part of a coordinated effort to help them evade detection at international entry points. Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA) director-general Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said that during an operation at KLIA yesterday, officers found images of uniformed and plainclothes Malaysian officers stored on the mobile phones of several foreign nationals who were denied entry. "These photographs were accompanied by voice messages, allegedly from agents in the travellers' home countries, instructing them to avoid the individuals shown in the images," he said. The photos served as an "identification list" of enforcement officers stationed at KLIA, meant to help the travellers bypass them during immigration and customs screening. "It's clear these syndicates are evolving. They are studying our enforcement patterns, monitoring officer deployments, and giving detailed instructions to the people they are smuggling in," Shuhaily said. He described the move as "deeply concerning" and reflective of how trafficking syndicates have become more technologically savvy and emboldened in recent years. "Our initial probe suggests that these images may have been taken by previous NTLs or deported travellers during their time in Malaysia, then sent back to the syndicate for circulation," he said, adding that some photos even appeared to have been taken inside holding areas at the airport. Shuhaily said the discovery was not only a breach of enforcement privacy but also highlighted the need for enhanced internal safeguards to protect the identity of officers. "These images are then passed from one traveller to another, almost like a 'blacklist' of officers to watch out for. This is dangerous. It creates a direct challenge to our operational integrity and puts our personnel at risk," he said. The MCBA is now investigating how widespread the practice is and whether similar tactics are being used at other entry points. Initial cases involved travellers mostly from Bangladesh. "We are dealing with a well-resourced, reactive syndicate network. As we move forward in our enforcement methods, they adapt just as quickly," he said. "But this discovery gives us the edge to recalibrate our strategies." On a separate matter involving counter setting, Shuhaily urged the public not to assume that merely transferring officers suspected of wrongdoing means authorities are turning a blind eye. "Every officer deserves due process. But that doesn't mean we are idle. In fact, we're actively restructuring the way we handle internal accountability. Our objective is clear, we want these syndicates to know: Malaysia is not an easy target," he said.

Nearly 200 foreign travellers denied entry at KLIA in sweep
Nearly 200 foreign travellers denied entry at KLIA in sweep

New Straits Times

time2 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

Nearly 200 foreign travellers denied entry at KLIA in sweep

SEPANG: A total of 198 foreign nationals were denied entry into Malaysia yesterday during a large-scale enforcement sweep at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The operation was part of ongoing efforts by the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA) to dismantle syndicates facilitating illegal entry. MCBA director-general Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the coordinated operation, carried out from early morning to 5pm at both KLIA Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, was executed with the support of behavioural profiling teams and stealth surveillance officers. "This operation demonstrates our commitment to blocking unlawful entry at the earliest point of contact, via the international main gateway," he said. At Terminal 1, he said officers intercepted 128 individuals. The majority comprised 123 Bangladeshi nationals (120 men and three women), along with two Pakistani men, one Syrian man, and two Indonesian nationals. They had arrived on flights originating from Bangladesh, Vietnam and Pakistan. Shuhaily said the travellers mostly failed to provide valid documentation, clear travel intentions, or proof of financial means during inspection. "These are classic red flags of non-genuine travellers. Many had no accommodation plans and could not explain their presence here, which strongly aligns with what we've observed in smuggling attempts," he said during a press conference at KLIA on Thursday night. An additional 70 passengers were denied entry at Terminal 2. They included 51 Indonesians, 13 Indians, four Pakistanis, and two Vietnamese nationals. "All individuals were designated Not-To-Land (NTL) under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and will be repatriated on the next available flights. Airlines are required to bear the full cost of return, in line with international aviation and immigration compliance protocols," he added. Shuhaily said the operation forms part of MCBA's "early interdiction" strategy, where officers are trained to detect suspicious individuals before they reach immigration counters, using behavioural cues, intelligence, and discreet monitoring. He added that ongoing surveillance had also disrupted "counter-setting" tactics where syndicates tried to bypass standard inspection channels. "This model works. Over the past month, we've successfully intercepted several waves of attempted illegal entries, which would have otherwise gone undetected," he said. Shuhaily said this was a long-standing problem that he intended to solve and address with the help of his officers in MCBA. He also attributed the success to the enforcement teams working tirelessly on the ground. Shuhaily stressed that while Malaysia remains open to genuine visitors, the country's border integrity must not be compromised. "Our priority is national security, and we will not allow syndicates to abuse our hospitality or exploit vulnerable individuals for unlawful purposes," he said.

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