The Department of Immigration in Malaysia has rounded up 2,832 foreigners, including 1,101 Bangladeshis, following the launch of a nationwide crackdown against undocumented migrants on July 1, says a local newspaper.

Immigration Director General Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said enforcement officers had inspected 458 premises across the country and screened 8,731 people as of 10:30am yesterday, reports The Star in its online version.

"So far, we have detained a total of 2,832 foreigners, including 509 women and 14 children," Mustafar said.

He added the majority of the migrants rounded up were from Bangladesh (1,101) followed by Indonesia (658), Myanmar (223), Thailand (98), the Philippines (95) and Vietnam (94).

The rest were from other countries.
Mustafar further said 56 employers were also detained for hiring and harbouring undocumented migrants.

The crackdown was launched after a deadline to apply for temporary enforcement card (e-card) expired at midnight on June 30, according to media reports.

The e-card acts as temporary validation to allow foreign workers who do not have valid documents to work in Malaysia.

The card, however, expires on February 15 next year and before that the cardholders must obtain a valid travel document from the embassies of their respective countries.

Soon after the crackdown, a large number of both legal and illegal foreign workers have gone into hiding and their employers fear they will not turn up for work until things have cooled down.