AT LEAST 67 Filipinos were rounded up in Miri, Sarawak, following Malaysia’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.
The agency said a team from the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur had been dispatched to the area to help the Filipinos, but did not comment on the crackdown. It said it would wait for a report from the consulate team in Kuala Lumpur.
The Borneo Post said the arrested Filipinos consisted of 56 Suluks, seven Badjaos and four Yakans from Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi.
The paper quoted Sarawak’s Immigration Enforcement Chief Gary Belayong as saying that the Filipinos were found hiding on a two-story house in Kipkomo on Monday by Malaysian authorities.
“All were Filipinos from the Southern Philippines. Most of them did not have proper documents,” Belayong said.
He said the Filipino illegals were now staying in housing areas to avoid detection.
Only recently, three Filipinos were killed during a crackdown against illegal immigrants in Malaysia.
Malaysia’s crackdowns have moved the Philippine Embassy to urge the authorities to treat suspected illegals humanely.