Malaysian Govt looking at holistic solution for 'missing' Indians

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 15 (ANI): The Malaysian Government is looking at a holistic solution to the problem of illegal immigrants and people who have overstayed their visa, including 39,000 missing Indian nationals.

The Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association had urged the Government to provide a three-month amnesty period to illegal migrants of Indian origin before going ahead with a planned crackdown on them, after Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said that there were about 39,000 Indian nationals who were "missing" after their tourist visas expired.

The Home Ministry will submit its proposal to the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers, which has now been expanded to include the problems of illegal immigrants, at a meeting on Tuesday.

"Home Minister Hishamuddin Tun Hussein will brief the committee which is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin," said ministry secretary-general Mahmood Adam on Thursday.

Mahmood cited the problem of the types of passes being issued to foreigners to enter the country legally.

"There are 14 passes being issued to tourists, students, workers and business travellers entering the country. This must be streamlined. There is also the problem of visa-on-arrival which makes it difficult for immigration officers to determine if the tourists are genuine," he added.

Earlier, a spokesman from the Indian High Commission in Malaysia said the mission was in regular contact with the Malaysian Government, in particular the Immigration Department, over the issue of overstaying.

"Whenever a case involving an Indian national comes to our attention, we work closely with the Malaysian authorities to secure their early return to India," he said. (ANI)