KUALA LUMPUR: Hundreds of illegal immigrants were nabbed in a major swoop by by Immigration Department at Jalan Alor and Jalan Changkat in Bukit Bintang, here on Tuesday.
Surprisingly, the crackdown did not deter those who escaped during the raid from returning to resume their business.
Checks at these two streets this afternoon found that small businesses run by immigrants were operating as usual.
Aware of the endless stream of illegal immigrants running businesses in the city centre, Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said a synergy was needed among enforcement agencies to cripple their activities.
"The public cannot rely solely on us to capture all of them. Other enforcement agencies must work together to root out the problem.
"For instance, Companies Commission of Malaysia can revoke the licence of locals who rent out their premises to illegal immigrants.
"The same goes for those who hire illegal immigrants to work on their premises. Premises which do not adhere to the law must be closed down for good," he said.
Mustafar said he was aware that a lot of immigrants ran helter-skelter and left their premises unattended when the enforcement team moved into the areas.
"We will go hard on them and ensure that those who have fled will be arrested, and deported from this country," he said.
Mustafar added that the department would conduct raids from time to time at these two streets as the sites were popular with tourists.
"A lot of tourists go to the Bukit Bintang area for shopping but it does not reflect Malaysian identity as it is flooded with immigrants.
"The tourists buy from workers who are illegally staying in the country..this is unacceptable."
Yesterday, almost 1,000 immigrants were checked and 440 were arrested after they were caught with various offences including staying here illegally, misusing work permit, and having no valid travel documents.
The three-hour operation also involved police General Operations Force, City Hall, and Companies Commission of Malaysia.
Those arrested came from various nationalities such as Bangladesh, Oman, Nepal, Vietnam, Pakistan, Indonesia, and India.