503,161 illegal workers legalised

They were legitimised under the 6P programme in November last year.

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 503,161 illegal foreign workers were legalised under the Comprehensive Legalisation Programme for Illegal Immigrants (6P) programme as of November 30 last year.

Home Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said they were part of the 619,661 illegal foreign workers who had applied to be legalised.

In a written answer to Liew Chin Tong (DAP-Kluang) at the Dewan Rakyat sitting yesterday, he said a few of the reasons for the delay in legalisation were the failure of employers to turn for interviews, workers not passing medical checks and exceeding the age limit of 45 years.

He said among the top three nationalities legalised were from Bangladesh (202,971), Indonesia (201,237) and Myanmar (48,855).

Some 17,551 and 10,717 Indian and Nepali workers were also legalised, respectively.

The 6P programme was implemented in October last year to register illegal workers in order to enable them to work legally in Malaysia.

-Bernama