PUTRAJAYA, May 19 — The Immigration Department arrested 16,681 foreigners on various offences under 4,785 enforcement operations throughout the country from January 1 to Friday (May 15).
Its director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said his department was more aggressive with enforcement operations and checked 69,406 individuals in the period.
“The data shows that the department is uncompromising where misuse and violations of the Immigration Act and its related regulations are concerned,” he said during a media conference after attending the 2025 Immigration Department’s Excellent Service Awards ceremony today.
There are currently 20,575 detainees at permanent Immigration depots, while 1,470 are held at temporary Immigration depots awaiting documentation and further legal action. As of Thursday (May 14), 19,700 people had been deported to their countries of origin.
The five countries with the highest numbers of deportees were Indonesia (7,936 people), Myanmar (4,005), Bangladesh (2,453), the Philippines (1,825), and Thailand (1,008).
On the Migrant Repatriation Programme 2.0, Zakaria said it achieved several significant milestones, including a high number of registrations, consistent voluntary repatriation, and encouraging compound collection.
From May 19, 2025, to Sunday (May 17), it recorded registrations of 257,443 illegal immigrants from 112 countries with a compound collection of RM128,726,940.
“Three countries with the highest registrations are Indonesia at 111,660 people, Bangladesh (49,481), and Myanmar (33,858),” he said, adding that the programme helped reduce the number of illegal immigrants in the country.
Regarding the awards ceremony, Zakaria said that 1,212 officers and personnel received awards for their excellent service over the past year.
“We (award) those who show excellent service, and we hope this will spur them to excellent service with the goal of the department providing the best world-class service,” he said.
