KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 — Foreign embassies in Malaysia do not have the authority to issue any form of pass or documents for their citizens to reside in the country, said Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud.
He said the issuance of visas and passes to foreign nationals to live and work here can only be issued by the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) .
"The Malaysian Immigration Department would like to emphasise that any outside party has no right to interfere with the sovereignty and laws of this country," he said in a statement here today.
The statement was issued in response to a report by a migrant rights group that a settlement raided by the authorities in Nilai Spring, Negeri Sembilan, last week, was not an illegal colony.
According to Jakarta-based Migrant Care, the foreigners who were detained in the raid had been issued temporary visit passes by the Indonesian authorities and the passes were valid for one year.
In the operation conducted last February 1, a total of 67 Indonesians between the ages of two months and 72 years were arrested for not having valid identification documents, as well as overstaying in the country and other Immigration offences.
Khairul Dzaimee said it was part of the department’s duties to carry out the operation and should not be questioned by any outside quarters.
"In fact, Malaysians are also penalised by authorities abroad when they violate the host country's Immigration laws. Therefore, all parties must respect the rule of law of a country," he added.
— Bernama
