Home Ministry's Comedy Squad

UPDATED: A free-for-all has developed in the Home Ministry’s voluntary repatriation programme with the hilarious emergence of a foreign barber, workers of two restaurants and a bartender as “special agents” of the Immigration Department.

The side-splitting squad of “special agents” uncovered by Malay Mail also includes a local travel agent.

All of them claim to act as go-betweens between 13 foreign embassies and the Immigration Department in the repatriation scheme that began on April 8.

A new Malay Mail investigation led us to these “special agents” who are on a roll to seek out overstayers – making a mockery of the programme.

Our team had over the weekend met and discussed by phone with these foreigners and the travel agent following information on the emergence of foreign “Immigration special agents”.

SPECIAL AGENT: The office of Zenith in Masjid India. Inset: The advertisement in a Tamil daily

We were also alerted to the travel agent, Zenith Travel and Tours, at Malayan Mansion, Jalan Masjid India, by a reader who noticed its advertisement on overstayers in a Tamil daily.

The advertisement reads: “Those who have overstayed and wish to pay the compound and purchase our tickets at reduced fares contact us.”

In separate discussions with the foreigners and the travel agent, our reporter posed as an employer with five workers from India who had overstayed.Two Indian nationals with valid work documents co-operated with Malay Mail to pose as “overstayers.”

The bartender, barber and two restaurant workers said their respective bosses were authorised by the Home Ministry to assist overstayers.

All the deals differed, far more than the RM300 the government is charging during a “honeymoon” six-month voluntary repatriation period to return home. Going by the travel agent’s offer, he would be making RM700 per case for “processing.” (See sidebar below.)

Those employing foreigners to ferret out overstayers — even more. A senior official from the Home Ministry verified that Zenith Travel and Tours is not among the 55 agents approved by the ministry to offer its services to the 13 foreign embassies. The approved agents include travel and tour firms, transportation companies and outsourcing companies.

They were appointed to help facilitate voluntary repatriation of overstayers who the Home Ministry thinks would be encouraged by the small RM300 fine.

Although the service only began last week, Zenith Travel said it has been in the business for the past two months and has “successfully” sent home “hundreds” of people from various countries.

Our latest findings come on the heels of a probe on April 3 in which a moneychanger at Ampang Park mall offered a route home to overstayers – with a noblacklist deal. The moneychanger has since stopped doing immigration work.

The repatriation programme has drawn the ire of non-governmental organisations who said it would encourage unscrupulous agents to resort to improper methods to gain a profit from overstayers.

They also felt that the addition of the agents is an unnecessary extra step in the usual procedures, when overstayers can directly deal with Immigration officers.

Question being asked: Just what do they process? Aren’t they just being “delivery boys” by taking the documents to Putrajaya? (MalayMail)