BEEF up your presence here. That’s the call of Pulau Ketam residents to the Immigration Department to combat the influx of illegal immigrants there.
The residents feel that the construction of an Immigration checkpoint would help prevent immigrants from making Pulau Ketam their first port of entry into Malaysia.
“It’s the worst-kept secret here,” claimed one resident. “It is common knowledge that migrants would arrive at Pulau Ketam, spend one or two days here and then brazenly take a ferry to Port Klang.
” It was learnt that illegal immigrants from Indonesia travel to Malaysia from Karimun or Tanjung Balai, which is a mere three to fivehour boat ride away.
“The only risk for them is the journey from Indonesia to Malaysia. Once they reach Pulau Ketam, they can already consider themselves home free,” he said.
The residents have called for Immigration to build a separate jetty to facilitate foreigners coming into the village.
“We know it will be costly, but this is necessary to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country at will.”
Their concerns were relayed to Kapar Member of Parliament S. Manikavasagam, who visited the area recently.
The MP, who was accompanied by area councillor S. Selvadurai, said he would take note of their concerns.
He assured the residents that the matter would be brought up in Parliament.
“I have also submitted a memorandum to the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan regarding the social ills at Pulau Ketam and call for immediate action.
“Immigration must also be on the ground, as there are complaints that this is one of the main entry points for illegal immigrants from Indonesia because of its geographical location,” he added.
Meanwhile, commenting on the ongoing construction of the new Pulau Ketam jetty for the ferry to Port Klang, he said he had urged the developer to speed up work.
The old 100-year-old jetty collapsed on Monday, forcing travellers to Pulau Ketam to use the Marine Department’s jetty, located some 50m away.
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