Thousands of foreigners in Malaysia rush to leave before enforcement on illegals starts

Thousands of foreigners are resorting to camping out at the country’s main airports and ferry terminals as they scramble to leave the country before enforcement against illegals starts on Friday (July 1).

At the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, many were seen sleeping in the car park while the departure lounges at KLIA2 were crowded.

Hundreds could not even get on their scheduled flights because the counter staff could not handle the huge crowds.

In Johor Baru, dozens of illegal Indonesian workers were seen rushing to beat the deadline of the recalibration programme.

At the Stulang Laut ferry terminal, there was a big crowd waiting to take the ferry home to Indonesia on Thursday.

Among them was cleaner Afni Juwana Harfal, 23, who said she had been in Malaysia for the past 10 years with her family.

“My parents returned to Indonesia recently and I decided to return home, too,” she said. “I plan to start my own business in my hometown in Tanjung Pinang as there are not many job opportunities for me here.”

Johor Baru Indonesian consul for social culture affairs Mohamad Rizali Noor said they had been monitoring the situation at both the Stulang Laut and Pasir Gudang ferry terminals.

“We are anticipating a large crowd in the last few days of the programme. We have deployed our staff to monitor the situation at both terminals and to help those who need assistance,” he said.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES