Latest news with #SittiSaleha
New Straits Times
7 days ago
- New Straits Times
Sabah Immigration detains 40 illegal immigrants in Kundasang
RANAU: Forty undocumented foreigners, including children, were arrested during an enforcement operation by the Sabah Immigration Department (JIM) in Kundasang. The integrated operation, which followed intelligence and public tip-offs, targeted four separate locations in the district. Eighteen officers from the Ranau District Immigration Office were involved. Sabah Immigration director Datuk SH Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof said 48 individuals were inspected, with 40 detained for various immigration offences. "Of those detained, 26 were men, six women, seven boys, and one girl, all of whom were either Indonesian or Filipino nationals." "All those detained did not possess valid travel documents or passes," she said in a press statement. The case is being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) and Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, as well as Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963. Sitti Saleha said the department would intensify operations in identified hotspots frequented by undocumented foreigners. She also said that stern action would be taken against those who abet such activities, including harbouring or employing illegal immigrants.
Borneo Post
30-07-2025
- Borneo Post
141 illegal immigrants detained in Keningau
The illegal immigrants detained by immigration officers during the operation in Keningau. KOTA KINABALU (July 30): One hundred and forty-one illegal immigrants were detained by the State Immigration Department in two seperate raids in Keningau on Tuesday. Sabah Immigration Department director Datuk SH Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof said two illegal squatters were targeted in the operations following a one-month surveillance by enforcement teams. The 12.30am operations saw the detention of 117 Filipino illegal immigrants – 10 men, 38 women, 38 boys and 31 girls, and 24 Indonesian illegal immigrants – 16 men, six women and two girls. The illegal immigrants had committed immigration offenses under Section 15(1)(c) and Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, and will be placed at the Papar Immigration Deportation Centre for further action. Sitti Saleha the department will continue to take strict action against any party found committing offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63, Passport Act 1966, Immigration Regulations 1963 and the Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (ATIPSOM). Strict action will also be taken against any party that employs and protects illegal immigrants, she said.
The Star
30-07-2025
- The Star
Sabah Immigration Dept nabs 141 during major raid in Keningau
Some of the illegal immigrants being checked by Immigration officers during a raid in Sabah's interior Keningau. KOTA KINABALU: A total of 141 illegal immigrants from the Philippines and Indonesia were detained during a major operation by the Immigration Department in Sabah's interior Keningau district. Sabah Immigration Department director Datuk Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof reported that 216 people were checked during the operation, with 141 foreigners detained on suspicion of committing various immigration offences. Those detained include 10 men, 38 women, 38 boys, and 31 girls from the Philippines, as well as 16 men, six adult women, and two girls from Indonesia. Sitti Saleha stated that all those arrested were sent to the Papar Immigration Detention Depot for investigation and further action under various offences of the Immigration Act 1959/63. Illegal immigrants being detainedby Immigration officers following a raid in illegal settlements in Keningau. In a statement on Wednesday (Jan 30), she noted that the predawn operations on Tuesday (Jan 29) were carried out following public complaints and intelligence gathered over a month against two specific migrant settlements in the interior district. Some 84 immigration enforcement officers from Keningau, Tenom, Ranau, Sipitang, and Kota Kinabalu conducted the raid with the assistance of RELA personnel in Keningau. The raid took place from 12.30am to 4am on Tuesday. Sitti Saleha affirmed that her department will continue to take firm action against anyone found to have committed offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Passport Act 1966, the Immigration Regulations 1963, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (ATIPSOM). "We will also act against those harbouring or employing illegal immigrants," she added.
The Star
25-07-2025
- The Star
Unregistered cross-national marriages result in children without papers, Sabah Immigration says
SANDAKAN: Many children in Sabah end up undocumented when their parents — one a local, the other a foreigner - married without registering their union, says Sabah Immigration Department director Datuk Sh. Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof. She said this has become a common issue in the state, as these couples often undergo informal 'kahwin kampung' (village marriage) ceremonies, without obtaining legal marriage certificates. 'When their children are born, there is no way to properly register the birth, because the marriage itself is not legally recognised,' she said in a press conference here on Friday (July 25). Sitti Saleha advised parents in this situation to come forward to the Immigration Department for guidance, especially on how to help the foreign spouse apply for valid documentation. 'This process usually requires the local Malaysian spouse to act as a sponsor or guarantor to support the foreign spouse's passport application through their embassy,' she added. Meanwhile, Sitti Saleha said the number of Pakistani detainees in Sabah's immigration depots has been increasing, with 14 currently held at the Sandakan depot. Across all four depots in the state, there has been a noticeable upward trend of arrests involving Pakistan nationals. 'We're concerned because this is a new trend, and it's something we're closely monitoring,' she said.
The Star
25-07-2025
- The Star
Overcrowding at Sandakan depot as ops continue against undocumented migrants
SANDAKAN: The Sandakan Immigration depot is housing more than 1,500 undocumented migrants, exceeding its maximum capacity of 1,200, as enforcement operations continue across Sabah. State Immigration director Datuk Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof said the overcrowding has put great pressure on resources and raised safety concerns. 'We're facing serious challenges with congestion. The Sandakan depot alone has exceeded its limit, and there's still a continuous flow of detainees from ongoing operations,' she told a press conference at the depot here on Friday (July 25). Of the detainees currently at the Sandakan depot, 1,273 are Filipinos and 266 are Indonesians. The Sandakan facility is one of four such depots across Sabah, now collectively housing 5,181 detainees – 4,157 Filipinos and 893 Indonesians – out of a total capacity of 7,000. Depot conditions are also deteriorating, with some blocks in Sandakan closed for maintenance. Only six to seven blocks remain operational, many of which have not been upgraded since 2010. To ease the overcrowding, Sitti Saleha said some detainees from Sandakan will be transferred to the Tawau depot, where the number of detainees is expected to drop in the coming week. She urged the Philippine and Indonesian embassies to expedite the issuance of travel documents, adding that delays were hampering repatriation efforts and causing long detention periods. 'For example, the last repatriation of Indonesians was in March. Many of them have now been stuck here for over four months. 'As long as they are not issued travel documents, they will remain in the depot,' she added. She explained that the Philippine Embassy, based in Kuala Lumpur, has no embassy or consulate in Sabah, making coordination slower, while Indonesia maintains consulates in Kota Kinabalu and Tawau. Meanwhile, in a recent large-scale operation involving 54 personnel from Lahad Datu, Ranau, Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu, a total of 212 individuals were screened, resulting in 125 arrests for suspected offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Passport Act 1966. The detainees are being held at the Sandakan depot for investigation. Sitti Saleha said the operations have been targeting squatter settlements, based on public complaints. She added that enforcement has also extended to employers, with 80 across the state prosecuted to date for hiring undocumented migrants and failing to comply with procedures.
