Photo-collected.
Morningsun Online //

The country’s immigration department has detained 222 Bangladeshis on charges of changing companies and jobs in Malaysia.

A total of 228 foreign nationals were arrested in a coordinated operation at an agency office of the Foreign Worker Relocation Service in Kulim, Kedah state, on Friday (September 6).

A team of immigration officers from the Intelligence and Operations Unit of the Kedah GIM Enforcement Division conducted the operation and managed to arrest 5 Chinese and one Indian national besides the Bangladeshi.

In a statement on the official Facebook post of the country’s Kedah Immigration, Director of Immigration Mohammad Ridjuan Mohammad Zain said that during the operation, it was found that the agencies involved were advertising on social media to entice employees to change companies in all sectors for a certain amount of fee.

The immigration statement also said to exercise caution in choosing employment lured by an agency without the permission of one’s company. Besides, the expatriate workers have been requested to check whether the agency is registered by the Ministry of Human Resources and the Ministry of Home Affairs or not.

The matter is being investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63, Immigration Regulations 1963, Passport Act 1966 and Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Human Smuggling Act 2007. The country’s immigration department also said that the detainees were taken to the immigration office in Alor Setar for documentation process and further action.