There will be no problems in enforcing the new immigration laws because most illegal immigrants are expected to leave the country by the time the law takes effect, said Deputy Home Affairs Minister Chor Chee Heung today.

The deputy minister told malaysiakini that large numbers of illegal immigrants are leaving the country each day and more are expected to continue leaving once the law takes effect on Aug 1.

Last March, the government announced a general amnesty period for illegal immigrants to leave the country without being charged on passport violations.

According to statistics released by the immigration department, between March 22 and July 11, a total of 145,578 Indonesians and 13,476 Bangladeshi immigrants have left the country voluntarily after the amnesty period was announced.

Immigration officials also estimate that 10,000 persons are departing the country each day leading up to the expiry of the amnesty on July 31.

Malaysia is said to be home to an estimated 1.5 million illegal immigrants with the majority originating from neighbouring Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Chor said the government is also studying the viability of transferring the management of illegal immigrants detention camps from the immigration department to the the prisons department.

Asked if illegal immigrants charged with passport violations after July 31 will still be held in these camps but under the management of the prisons department, he said: "We are still looking into the possibility. A decision will be made in a few weeks."

Stringent policies

The deputy minister also said other measures are being taken to tighten border security to curb the entry of these migrants.

"We have increased manpower in enforcement units for the implementation of our new strategy. We are setting up a special coast guard unit to look after the shores of the Malaysian waters," he said.

Chor said the new Immigration Act coupled with more stringent foreign labour recruitment policies will also be able to deal with cases where employers fail to renew permits for their workers despite the legal requirement to do so.

"The new recruitment policy is now classified with stringent rules which requires the commitment of employers," he said.

The current immigration policy requires employers to submit applications for migrant labour work permits directly to the immigration department or to a specified ministry.

Questioned if the law may inadvertently target asylum seekers who are unable to return to their n countries for fear of persecution, Chor said: "We have not come across this situation. We will deal with it separately when the time comes."

Under new provisions in the Immigration Act, illegal immigrants when arrested risk a maximum fine of RM10,000 or a jail term not exceeding five years or both and mandatory whipping up to six strokes.

Employers of undocumented workers are also liable to fines between RM10,000 and RM50,000 per employee and a jail term of up to one year, while employers who hire more than five illegal immigrants would be liable to mandatory whipping and jail terms not exceeding five years.