Overcrowded centres but alien arrests will continue
Malaysiakini
Sep 30, 2006

Malaysia will continue to arrest illegal aliens despite a critical lack of space at detention centers throughout the country, news reports said Saturday.

"If they have to sleep on floors right next to one another, so be it," Home Affairs Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

"But we do not feel nice about making them do this, so we need to find more space for them."

As of Thursday, 7,467 alleged illegal aliens were held at 15 centers nationwide, including 1,482 women and 303 children. The majority are Indonesians, he said.

Deportation slow

Radzi said the situation could become worse early next year because Malaysia plans to launch a major operation to round up illegal aliens. New detention centers may need to be built, he said.

The deportation process isn't quick. "We need to liaise with the authorities of the respective immigrant, and this process takes at least three months to be resolved," the Star newspaper quoted Radzi as saying.

Thousands of immigrants come to Malaysia, one of Southeast Asia's wealthiest nations, seeking employment in plantations, construction sites, factories and other industries to escape poverty or instability in their home countries.

Ministry officials were not immediately available to comment on the report.