ILLEGALS IN EAST MALAYSIA STATE GIVEN UNTIL OCTOBER TO REGISTER

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 (Bernama) -- Illegal migrant workers in East Malaysia
state of Sabah are given until October to register themselves in a special
amnesty granted, before the authorities carry out an operation to weed out and
deport illegals.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the government had made various
efforts to encourage the illegals to be registered, including reducing the levy
on foreign workers by 50 per cent and extending the registration period.

"The first phase of the amnesty was carried out since last year. We are now
in phase two and phase three will follow after this.

"The last reminder for the illegals to register will be given at the end of
this month, otherwise action will be taken against them," he said after visiting
a crime hot spot in Puchong, near here, Thursday.

Hishammuddin said the Malaysian government did not wish to punish
Indonesians in dealing with the problem of illegals but had instead taken a
systematic approach.

He said although there were small groups of Indonesians who were too
emotional over Malaysia-Indonesia issues, Indonesians' safety in this country
was protected.

He advised Malaysians not to emulate the attitude and actions of these
groups of Indonesians which could strain Malaysia-Indonesia relations.

On his visit to the hot spot Thursday, Hishammuddin said it was to get a
clearer picture and more information on the crime situation in the area,
identified as one of 50 with a very high crime rate.

"This is in line with the aim of reducing the overall crime rate to 20 per
cent, as reducing crime is one of the six national key result areas announced by
the government recently," he said.
-- BERNAMA