A TOTAL of 72 foreign workers were detained for not possessing valid documents during a joint operation at the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market. The operation by 77 officers from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Kuala Lumpur Immigration Department and the police conducted checks on foreign workers’ travel documents, working permits as well as United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) cards.
Foreigners who were found without valid documents being gathered at the entrance of the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market for further checks.
DBKL Licence and Petty Traders Management Department senior assistant director Saiful Mazli said DBKL would continue to have such operations in the future to better monitor the foreign workers in the market.
“This is part of our efforts to better manage the market and monitor the foreign workers.
“We want to ensure all foreigners working here are registered but this will take some time,” he said, adding that the large population of foreigners here contributed to the problem.
“There are fewer foreign workers here today and I see some improvement.
“We hope the wholesalers here will give us their cooperation and abide by the law.
“It is also the employer’s responsibility to check the travel documents of their foreign workers frequently,” Saiful said, adding that they might conduct similar operations at least twice a week.
StarMetro reported yesterday that foreigners without a tag and uniform would not be permitted to enter the market.
Only those in colour-coded uniforms and tags worn by wholesalers and their registered foreign workers will be allowed into the market, besides local customers.
During the operation, StarMetro noticed that there were workers who did not wear the uniforms and tags.
Foreign workers who did not wear the uniforms or tags and those caught without possessing any valid working or travel documents were taken to the entrance of the market for further checks.
Kuala Lumpur Immigration Department representative Muhamad Faisal Abu Bakar, who led the operation, said some of them were suspected to have falsified their work permits and travel documents.
“We also found some of them had misused their working permit, did not have proper identification or their travelling period here had expired.
“The detained foreign workers were brought to the lock-up at the Immigration Department at Jalan Duta for further investigation and action will be taken accordingly if they were found breaking the law,” he said.
Out of the 122 foreign workers who were round-up at the market entrance, 50 were released after their documents were verified.
Some of the wholesalers who witnessed the entire operation said they supported the action by the authorities.
Local vegetable seller Elaine Shum, 43, said DBKL should conduct such operations once in a while to keep the foreign workers in check.
“Sometimes, there are just too many foreign workers here.
“I have seen foreign workers fighting with each other and I suspect they are not registered workers.
“This paints a bad image to some of the foreign workers who are really hardworking,” she said.
She added that the operation was timely as it was done during off-peak hours.
“We get busy around 3pm and we need the foreign workers to help,” she said.
Another vegetable seller, Lim Chee Leong, 33, said the operation would act as a warning to other unregistered foreigners operating here.
“It is good that they weed out the unregistered foreign workers.
“I hope this will scare off those selling vegetables at the parking lot as it affects our business here,” he said.
Foreign Worker News source: The Star
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