KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry has been urged to examine why Immigration officers are arresting an increasing number of foreign wives helping their husbands run their stall business.

MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong said these foreign wives had no work permits but were in possession of other relevant documents.

Chong asked whether helping a husband voluntarily, without pay, could be considered as employment.

"These foreign wives are helping their husbands. No salary is paid. Is this employment? Why do they need a work permit to help their husbands?" said Chong.

His comments follow the cases of Thai Samruai Homnan, 25, and Vietnamese Nguyen Thi Phuong, 21, who were arrested in September last year and April this year respectively while helping their husbands at their stalls. They could not produce work permits when picked up by Immigration.
Chong said that he had met Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung over the matter.

Chong said that it was not logical for Immigration officers to detain such women. What is more, he said some of these foreign wives were detained for as long as two weeks -- even longer if there was no intervention from his department.

He was not happy with the rising number of such cases and called on the Home Ministry to issue guidelines on what could be done for women in this kind of situation.

Chong pledged to work closely with the Home Ministry to find a favourable solution to such problems.

On a related issue, Chong said foreign wives, especially those with children, should be given immediate permanent residence rather than having to renew their social visit passes annually, as is the current practice.

"Some of these foreign wives have been living here for more than 10 years. Even their children are all grown up but they are still denied their PR."