MalayMail-July 13
A syndicate allegedly involving Immigration Department insiders and agents linked to a restaurant owners’ association is suspected of manipulating the department’s migrant worker quota system to bring in labor beyond approved limits.
According to sources, the syndicate’s activity was uncovered recently when the department cross-checked the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMS) data against actual documents issued to restaurant operators by its Foreign Worker Division.
It found a big anomaly between the real status of migrant workers in MyIMMS and the issued documents. A further investigation then revealed a sinister plot exploiting a government policy that allows employers to replace migrant labor who have permanently returned to their home countries.
According to the Home Ministry’s policy, replacement quotas are approved on a case-by-case basis and only for migrant workers who have returned to their home countries with a Check Out Memo (COM) issued after 2023. However, the syndicate is believed to be using corrupt immigration officers to manipulate the system by changing the COM date for workers who returned before 2023, thus enabling their employers to apply for a new quota. In addition, immigration found that the syndicate also altered data on MyIMMS, changing workers’ employment status. Investigations found significant discrepancies between the worker’s actual status in the MyIMMS system and the information contained in the physical confirmation letters issued by the division. For example, one restaurant operating in Kuala Lumpur had only five migrant workers eligible for replacement quotas based on MyIMMS records. However, a confirmation letter issued by the immigration’s Foreign Workers Division dated May 8, 2026, stated that the restaurant was entitled to replacement quotas of 18 workers. Meanwhile, a restaurant in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia had 609 migrant workers recorded in the MyIMMS system and applied for replacement quotas for 15 workers. However, the Immigration Department records showed that 14 of the 15 workers had returned to their home countries before 2023 and were therefore ineligible for replacement quotas, while the remaining workers had never been employed by the restaurant. Read more at:
