KOTA KINABALU: Immigration officers have started “friendly” door-to-door visits to warn the public not to employ foreign maids illegally, ahead of an anticipated nationwide crackdown against illegal immigrants.
The teams led by state Immigration Department enforcement chief Dairin Unsir distributed pamphlets in housing areas telling people that employing foreigners without proper documentation was an offence under the immigration laws.
The “friendly” visits under Ops Pintu started at the Kingfisher Park and moved on to several other housing areas.
“It refers to the common offences committed by locals in employing foreigners,” Dairin said.
He said the teams also carried out checks at construction sites and squatter colonies to weed out illegal immigrants here during the three-day operations that started yesterday.
A total of 394 people were screened and 132 Indonesian and Philippine nationals were found to have contravened the Immigration Act, including not having any legal pass to be in Sabah.
He said all those detained had been remanded for further investigations