Hisham to meet Chinese chambers over crackdown (Malaysia)

The Government will meet representatives from the Chinese chambers of commerce and guilds this week before deciding whether to proceed with a planned crackdown on illegals.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said he had already met with nasi kandar operators on the issue last week.

“I will be meeting the Chinese chambers and guilds next and will decide after that,” he told The Star yesterday.

However, asked if thousands of employers “guilty of hiring illegals” would be given a reprieve from action against them under the crackdown scheduled for Feb 15, the minister was tight-lipped. “Wait for my announcement.”

Sources said the meeting was scheduled to be held on Friday at the minister’s office here.

Last month, the Immigration Department announced that it would commence a nationwide crackdown on thousands of employers, believed to be harbouring or employing illegal workers.

The operation will be carried out with the help of police and Rela.

Currently, there are about 1.8 million legal foreign workers in the country and the department believes there are at least an equal number of illegals.

There have been requests for the crackdown to be postponed as it was scheduled to start on the second day of Chinese New Year, where businesses would be brisk with huge profits to be made.

Last week, Hishammuddin promised to be lenient on employers who hired illegals if they could assure authorities that they were “getting their act together.”

He said, since the deadline for the crackdown was announced, many employers had come forward and admitted to hiring illegal workers.

Ref: the star