KUALA LUMPUR: Every employer must wait for their new foreign workers' arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
Immigration Department director-general Datuk Sri Khairul Dzaimee Daud said employers had to be present since they were responsible for managing their workers' documents and confirming the foreign workers were theirs.
"We give employers a time window of six hours to come to the KLIA and claim their foreign workers.
"In some cases, time extensions will be given (beyond six hours), Foreign workers will not be released until their employers arrive at KLIA, as what has been stated in their applications," he said in a statement posted on Facebook today.
Khairul Dzaimee said such a requirement was a safety gap to ensure foreign workers would be under the care of their legit employers.
"If employers fail to comply, their foreign workers will be issued with a notice of `Not to Land (NTL)' and will be sent home on the next flight," he said in response to criticisms by a blogger, who had questioned how the Immigration Department handled foreign workers' entry at the airport.
The blogger had also called for the current Immigration Department head to be replaced.
Khairul Dzaimee also expressed the department's disappointment over the blogger's claims as it could stir confusion among the people.
The Immigration Department is considering legal action, he said.
Khairul Dzaimee said since Malaysia reopened its borders, the department had managed the entry of 98,079 new foreign workers from April 1 to Sept 26 this year.