Contents

1 Terms and definitions

2 Background
2.1 Pre-colonial migration
2.3.1 Refugees and asylum seekers
3 Issues in immigration management
3.1 Impact on domestic politics
3.2 National security concerns
3.3 Human trafficking issues
3.4 Social Impact
4 Policy responses
4.1 Amnesty program
4.2 Punitive actions
4.3 Regional co-operation
5 References
Terms and definition

In recent years the designation "illegal", when applied to "migration" and "migrant", has been
increasingly replaced - most often by the terms irregular and "undocumented"- on the grounds
that the designation "illegal" is inaccurate, degrading, and prejudicial. Key institutions have
formally adopted the new terms: UN General Assembly (1975), International Labour
Organization (2004), European Parliament (2009), Associated Press (2013), and other US news
agencies

But these new terms are rarely used in official and academic discourses in Malaysia, as the
popular term used is illegal immigrant. Even the controversial term "illegals", that elsewhere
has been perceived as outdated and pejorative, is regularly used in Malaysia's media.

Terminology is also obscured because of law in Malaysia (Immigration Act 1959/63), where
there is no distinction between undocumented economic migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, or
trafficked persons, with members of all groups designated as illegal immigrants.

So, within the Malaysian context, the term "illegal immigrant" (used in its broadest sense)
designates a wide variety of groups, who are all liable to arrest, charge, whipping, detention and
deportation for Immigration offences:

1. Persons who entered clandestinely without any documented travel authorisation (i.e.,
undocumented)
2. Children born to immigrants in Malaysia and whose births have not been officially
registered
3. Persons seeking asylum, refugees, and trafficked victims
4. Persons who were admitted with proper authorisation, but then breach the terms of
admission (e.g., by entering on student or tourist visas and then working. Also called
"visa abusers")
5. Persons who were admitted with authorisation to work, but then breach the terms of that
authorisation (e.g., by changing their work and employers. Also called "contract
defaulters")
 6. Persons who were admitted with authorisation to work, but whose work permit is
wrongfully cancelled by employers in labour disputes
7. Persons who were admitted with proper authorisation, but whose authorisation to stay
have expired (Also called "over-stayers"). This includes both those in the workforce and
those who are not.
8. Persons who were admitted with authorisation to work, but whose work authorisation
have expired
9. Refugees in Sabah who were admitted with authorisation for temporary stay under a
special pass, the IMM13P (which must be renewed annually), but who fail to renew
10. Persons possessing counterfeit authorisation or forged endorsement of official
authorisation
11. Persons possessing genuine official authorisation that was obtained fraudulently

Pre-colonial migration

For most of human history people were free to move between regions. Malaysia's first generation
of migrants consisted of indigenous peoples, the Orang Asli, believed either to have been among
the first wave of human migration from Africa around 50,000 years ago, or to belong to the more
recent events of Asian human evolution.

The Malay Peninsula grew from port towns that thrived on the trade routes from China to India,
and hosted the next groups of migrants as merchants became domiciled in the ports, some
settling permanently and assimilating into the local communities. By the 5th century, networks
of these towns had evolved into organised political spheres of influence that was defined by its
centre rather than its borders. At the periphery, control is less certain, borders may become
permeable, control sometimes overlapped, where areas could be subject to several powers, or
none.

During the early kingdoms of Langkasuka (2nd century, Malay peninsula), Srivijaya empire (8th
century, based on the island of Sumatra, now part of Indonesia), and Malacca Sultanate (15th
century, Malay peninsula) the centre of power shifted between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.
In addition to being linked by political rule, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula were also linked
by intermarriage between Sumatran and Peninsular ruling elite, which led to migration of their
followers.

Other significant early migrants are those now classified as Melayu Anak Dagang: non-Malays
that migrated to the region and later assimilated into Malay culture (contrasted with Melayu
Anak Jati: ethnic Malays that are native to the region): These include the Minangkabau people
from Sumatra, Indonesia, and the Bugis people from Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Refugees and asylum seekers

Malaysia with most of its Southeast Asian neighbours are not the signatories of the 1951 UN
Refugee Convention, thus have maintained that any newly arrival aliens are illegal immigrants
rather than refugees. Since the early 1970s, Malaysia have been allowing other Muslims who
stuck in a conflict on their countries to seek refuge in Malaysia especially to the Filipino
Muslims in the Southern Philippines. Also in 1975, Malaysia accepted thousands of Cambodian
Muslims who had fled Cambodia during the administration of Pol Pot regime. During the
Indochina refugee crisis, Malaysia continued to allow a select number of Cambodian Muslims to
locally integrate, assisted by the Malaysian Muslim Welfare Organisation (PEKIM), who
received funds both from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the
Malaysian Government. Starting from 1980, Malaysia permitted the local settlement for
Rohingya Muslims and Acehnese Muslims who were fleeing the Muslims persecution in
Myanmar and Aceh insurgency in Indonesia.
In 2015, the Malaysian Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, stated that
his ministry has spoken on the refugee issue numerous times with the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), telling the world organisation that "Malaysia is not a
signatory to its convention on refugees". He said that even Malaysia allow any refugees to stay
there, the UNHCR should not taking any advantage of Malaysia's compassion to allowing them
there, instead it is time for the United Nations to send the refugees to another third-world nation.
The minister also reminded that even if Malaysia is seen as an attractive country for the refugees

to taking up the jobs that locals did not want to take it due to dangerous, dirty or demeaning
nature, both the refugees and the migrant workers should not just take the law into their own
hands when in Malaysia.

Issues in immigration management

Impact on domestic politics

The power to provide a shelters for refugees has been misused by several individuals mostly
from the National Registration Department (NRD), when the most serious cases had happened
on the east Malaysian state of Sabah to allow thousands of Filipino Muslims acquire the
Malaysian identity card through a secret project known as Project IC. It is evidenced that this
was done due to an ethnic connection by their own people who already established presence in
various Malaysian job positions (such as those who had become either NRD members,
politicians or security forces) to bring their relatives of the same roots from their country of
origin. For example, a syndicate from Pakistan has a largely Pakistani clients while others
syndicate from Myanmar and Indonesia also have their own clients. This is similar to the Filipino
cases as when their document producing network expand, they also started to bring more illegal
immigrants from their own ethnic community to live here and become Malaysian citizen. An
officer with Eastern Sabah Security Command claimed that the corruption of local authorities
(especially by those who had a similar ethnic groups with the illegals) and illegal issuance of
identity cards had played an important role on the high increase of the illegal immigrants
especially in Sabah. Former Prime Minister such as Mahathir had continuously support the influx
of these illegals, saying they should be given citizenship. According to a research by two Filipino
researchers, Myfel Joseph Paluga and Andrea Malaya Ragragio of the Department of Social
Science University of the Philippines Mindanao, the flood of migrants from Mindanao to Sabah
was partly encouraged by certain Sabah politicians who wanted to be the Sultan of Sulu
especially after the fall of Sabah Muslim-led parties of United Sabah National Organisation
(USNO) and Sabah People's United Front (BERJAYA) administrations. As stated by some
source, certain politicians (with similar ethnic roots and religion with the immigrants) inside both
of the Malaysian and Sabah State governments has two main political purposes with the first one
is to increase the Muslim populations in Sabah to make it became a political stronghold for the
government while the second one is to stop the territorial dispute over Sabah with the Philippines
by providing such shelters to Filipino Muslims who already discriminated by the Catholic-
majority Philippine central government in their homeland of Mindanao without even knowing
many of the immigrants comprising militants and criminals that will betraying Malaysia in the
future for their own ideologies as evidenced on the 2013 intrusion as well with other past attacks
on Sabah and recent kidnappings.

Furthermore, during the uncontrolled influx of Vietnamese boat people to Malaysia, the
Malaysian government felt this would threaten its national security and its racial balance as most
of the refugees resemble the Chinese people which resulted they been quickly repatriated. The
Malaysian government then blamed the United States, accusing them of being principally at fault
for causing the Vietnam War and led to a large massive influx of these illegals to Vietnam
neighbours, as Malaysia had a phobia resulted from two tragedies that had happened to the
country in the past, the 1964 which led to the separation of Singapore and 1969, both between
the Malay and Chinese. Meanwhile, thousands of Muslim illegal immigrants from neighbouring
countries such as the one from the Southern Philippines and Sulawesi, Indonesia continued to be
given permission to stay longer in the country without any restrictions and prediction on what
problems they may posed in the near future. Some Sabahan Muslims MP and State Assembly
such as Rosnah Shirlin and Abdul Rahim Ismail had already felt the culture problems brought by
the Filipinos Muslims today, Rosnah quote;

The refugee camp established on my district has creating a lot of problems for the residents here.
The camp has become a drugs den and the source of many other criminal activities. Over the
years, many robberies had taken place in nearby villages and the culprits are mostly from the
camp. Supposedly, the improved situation in the Philippines today has brought into question
whether these Filipinos could still be regarded as refugees. The camp was set up on a 40-acre
plot of land near Kampung Laut in the early 1980s by the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees (UNHCR). But the UNHCR had long ago stopped providing funds to the camp and as
a result, many of these foreigners had been working outside the camp. The refugees had even
dare to expanded the camp area, encroaching on nearby village land and today, the camp has
become the biggest syabu distribution den on my district.

National security concerns

In 2008, Sabah Deputy Chief Minister claimed that some illegal immigrants attempted to apply
to become Malaysian security force members by using their fake identity cards.This has been
proved during the searching operation of further members of the Sulu militants in Sabah when
one of the detained was a Malaysian police corporal who had a family ties in the southern
Philippines. He was believed to have aided militants in illegally entering Sabah and leaving the
state. There is another serious case when a security guard from Tawau, Sabah shot dead a bank
worker in Subang Jaya, Selangor and robbed a bank there. Initial investigation found the security
guard only possessed a fake identity card and was not a Sabahan citizen. The suspect was later
identified as an Indonesian coming from Sulawesi. Some politicians such as Kit Siang
questioned how the security guard was able to receive a MyKad, which enabled him work in the
bank. He quote;
How can this person get a MyKad, and even if the MyKad is fake, how can he be allowed to
open up a bank account, receive monthly salary and in fact be given a firearm licence by the
Home Ministry? Did this person also vote in the 13th General Election? Is it because the owner
of the security firm is a crony of the ruling party? How many foreigners have enjoyed these
privileges?

Lim Kit Siang, member of the opposition (DAP).

Apart from Sabah, the porous border in the Straits of Malacca between Peninsular Malaysia and
Sumatra also became the hole for Indonesian illegal immigrants to enter the country. This was
noticed in 2014 when these illegals frequently sank on the sea due to their overloaded boat to
avoid detection from the Malaysian authorities.

Human trafficking issues

In 2014, Malaysia together with Thailand and Venezuela was listed at the third and lowest tier by
US Department of State. This was due to Malaysia only doing a little progress to combat the
exploitation of foreign migrant workers who are routinely subjected to forced labour conditions
and those who had been recruited under false pretenses and later coerced into sex work. Many
Rohingya refugees who want to seek a better life in Malaysia have frequently fall in the hand of
human traffickers, such as what already happened on northern Malaysia when the traffickers kept
them in a houses, beating them, depriving them of food, and demanding a ransom from their
families. Many Filipinas who been promised with good jobs in other countries by traffickers in
the Philippines also been trafficked to Malaysia as a transit point, leaving them vulnerable to
detention from Malaysian authorities for illegal trespassing. Beside that, a large numbers of
Vietnamese and Chinese traffickers have shifted their prostitution business to Malaysia which
making Vietnamese women at the top list of foreign prostitutes in the country, followed by some
Cambodian women. The traffickers tactic usually cheat the victim by offering them jobs in
Malaysia with high salary, but once they arrived to meet the trafficker (who have disguised
themselves as the manager), the victim will be brought and locked in a house, raped and forced
into sex work. Chinese traffickers from China who used to kidnap children in their country use
their victims to beg in the streets of Kuala Lumpur to raise sympathy from Malaysian citizens for
their condition after the children been maimed in their country after been kidnapped though they
was originally born healthy.

As Malaysia is the centre of electrical parts manufacturing, many major electrical companies has
their factories in the country, on which some of the bigger companies like Panasonic and
Samsung as well Malaysian fast food chains of McDonald's were accused of practising labour
exploitation with poor treatment to their workers. There have been also reports on the ongoing
poor treatment to Cambodian housemaids, with a Cambodian maid detained in one of Malaysian
immigration centre saw three women of Cambodian and Vietnamese nationalities die in the
centre after been severely tortured with other nationalities like Thai, Indonesian and Laotian
prisoners were badly tortured as well. There also reports that Cambodian and Indonesian maid
dies after been starved to death by their employers. Moreover, baby selling have ongoing in
Malaysia for a long time with the babies brought in from countries like Thailand and Cambodia.
Some babies will be bought by couples desperate to start a family while those unfortunate babies
are sold to traffickers and forced to become sex slaves or beggars. Prostitution rings also offer
babies from their foreign sex workers who get pregnant with some of the sex workers even
willingly to contact any couples by themselves to offer their babies as Malaysian laws does not
allow migrant workers to bear children in the country.

Policy responses

The Malaysian Department of Immigration has guarantees that Malaysia will be free from illegal
immigrants in 2020. Thus, to achieve the vision various operation has been conducted.[73]

Amnesty program

In 2011, Malaysia launch an amnesty programme with codenamed '6P' to reduce the number of
illegal immigrants. The 'P' stands for six Malay words beginning with the letter which mean;
"Pendaftaran" (registration), "Pemutihan" (legalisation), "Pengampunan" (amnesty),
"Pemantauan" (supervision), "Penguatkuasaan" (enforcement) and "Pengusiran" (deportation).
All illegal immigrants were given three weeks to take up the offer or face the law if they are
arrested without any valid travel documents or work permits. However, some irresponsible
people have taken advantage of the loopholes of its implementation, thus, there is a call to
strengthen the programme by monitoring management companies who have been appointed as
intermediaries between employers and illegal foreign workers.

Punitive actions

The crackdown on illegal immigrants have been carried out frequently by the Malaysian
authorities, sometimes without any notice. Since 2014, crackdowns have been more frequent as
many illegal immigrants have been found to be using permits of the locals to operate businesses.

Through detention, the illegal immigrants will be imprisoned, caned and finally deported. This
was done to help regulate immigration and to remind them to return to their home countries by
letting them know to "not flout the law again".

In early 2017, a former employee in the Malaysian Registration Department (JPN) was sentenced
to 156 years in prison for giving illegal citizenship to Filipino illegal immigrants from Sulu to
stay in Sabah.

Regional co-operation

A joint border commission has been signed with the Philippines to patrol the illegal immigrants
from the Southern Philippines to East Malaysia while Thailand has agreed to lengthen a border
wall along the Malaysian state of Kedah to curb the flows of illegal workers across the Malay
Thai border. Spanish Ambassador to Malaysia Mara Bassols Delgado has urged the country to
have closer ties with other Asean nations to solve the immigrant problem. According to her
"close understanding between Asean countries would result in a more effective approach to
identify the individuals who entered the country illegally and without identification papers. This
would facilitate the process of sending them back to their countries of origin". In 2015, Malaysia
receives two patrol vessels from Australia. Malaysia said the assets would used to protect their
maritime borders from illegal migration in the Straits of Malacca. Prior to the meeting between
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Putrajaya in
November 2016, both leaders agree to deport illegal Filipino migrants and refugees in Sabah
back to the Philippines with the signing of various agreements including to improve the social
conditions of legal Filipino migrants and expatriates in the state with the establishment of a
school, hospital and a consulate. In the same month, both Malaysia and Thailand also announce a
plan to replace their whole southern border fence into a wall border according to Thai Defence
Minister Prawit Wongsuwan who got the idea from a recent meeting in Laos with Malaysian
counterparts.