KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has decided to set up a special body to coordinate the registration, employment, monitoring and enforcement on foreign workers here, Parliament was told.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the body would better coordinate the efforts among the uniformed bodies including the police and Immigration Department.
He said from the 1,855 joint-ops carried out, 51,019 foreign workers were checked and 12,171 of them were arrested.
"We have also arrested 134 employers for employing illegal foreign workers.
"A total of 18,250 illegal foreigners were deported. On criminal cases, last year, there 13,997 cases involving foreign workers, or 14.8 per cent out of some 94,371cases reported last year," he said in responding to a question by Datuk Mohd Idris Jusi (PKR-Batu Pahat).