MB Selangor Reveals Locals Protect Illegal Immigrants

SHAH ALAM: Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari revealed that there are locals believed to be protecting illegal immigrants, including the Rohingya ethnic group, thus making enforcement actions more difficult.

Amirudin said that the existence of an improper collusion between some locals and the group concerned is among the factors hindering the authorities’ efforts to take effective action.

“When we take action and so on, there are local elements that defend and protect them. This is among the realities that we must acknowledge, that there is an improper conspiracy between locals and the parties involved.

“So enforcement must also be directed not only at the parties involved, but also at those who are complicit and even taking advantage of their desperate situation to stay and survive (in Malaysia),” he said during the Selangor State Legislative Assembly (DUN) session at the Selangor State Assembly today.

Amirudin said this in response to a supplementary question from Datuk Johan Abd Aziz (BN‑Dusun Tua) regarding the issue of illegal immigrants and Rohingya nationals in Hulu Langat.

Meanwhile, Amirudin said that the issuance of cards by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) confirming the ethnicity as refugees is not issued by the government but by that commission.

“However, it is not a licence for them to freely do business, live, own assets and so on. That is acknowledged at both the Federal and state levels,” he said.

Meanwhile, he informed that based on checks at the District and Land Office, a total of 9,515 Rohingya ethnic individuals have been recorded in Hulu Langat to date.

BERNAMA