NST Leader: Pulling the plug on fake work pass scams
THERE’S a lucrative reason why migrants desperately enter Malaysia by any means necessary: an estimated RM183 billion to be made through legal wages and illicit micro businesses yearly.
Malaysia's reputation as a prosperous nation has lured countless migrants, who contribute an estimated RM183 billion to the economy through both legal wages and illicit micro businesses. With an estimated RM61 billion in remittances annually, the remaining RM122 billion remains within the local economy. Despite being sought after for labor in various sectors, many migrants abandon their jobs or wait for contracts to expire before starting their own ventures.
Now, a new scam involving fake electronic Temporary Employment Visit Passes (e-PLKS) has emerged. Authorities discovered syndicates charging between RM150 and RM70 for forged e-PLKS and police reports, respectively. Key IT technicians from the Immigration Department were involved in manipulating system databases to approve these passes in exchange for bribes.
During the investigation, authorities recovered 1,306 forged passes, which could have generated up to RM18 million in revenue for the syndicate, costing the government RM2.4 million in lost earnings. The network also included business owners and employment agents, as well as masterminds from Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. The operation has closed the electronic document verification gap and exposed the involvement of individuals from various countries.
Authorities now aim to strengthen the system through real-time verification and stronger authentication, requiring data-sharing between agencies and foreign missions. The ultimate goal is to make it impossible for future syndicates to operate, rather than just seizing the fake documents.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
