Home Ministry probes foreigners abusing social visit passes to run illegal businesses, including 81 chalet units in Sabah’s ESSCOM zone.

PUTRAJAYA: The Home Ministry has uncovered cases of foreigners entering Malaysia on social visit passes and using local partners or borrowed licences to operate businesses illegally, including tourism facilities in Sabah.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said enforcement operations had detected business models in which foreign nationals entered the country on social visit passes — which prohibit employment and commercial activity — but later engaged in business ventures through local collaborators.

“When we conduct enforcement operations, we are looking at foreigners who enter the country using social visit passes with restrictions — they are not allowed to do business or to work — yet they proceed to do so.

“In some cases, these foreign nationals obtain local business partners. They use the licence of a local person. They may be the investor, but if they wish to conduct business activities, they must apply for the appropriate pass that allows them to do so.

“If they enter on a social visit pass and, even with a local partner, proceed to operate a business, that is against the law.”

In one case in the Semporna area within the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) zone, authorities identified up to 81 chalet units allegedly operated under this arrangement.

He said enforcement action was being taken under several laws, including the Immigration Act, covering individuals who entered illegally, those who misused their passes and those who overstayed after lawful entry.

“We have identified a business model where foreign nationals enter with a local partner and then operate the business themselves.

“This clearly affects local business operators who follow the law.”

Saifuddin added that the establishment of such tourism facilities could not have occurred overnight, pointing to the need for local authorities to be vigilant.

“The development of facilities of that scale does not happen overnight. This is where the role of the local authority is important. If such facilities are being developed, immediate action should be taken.

“If our investigations involve travel agents or other facilitators, we will zoom in on all directions of inquiry to identify the root cause and those responsible.”

He said enforcement had also detected similar patterns across other sectors, including interior design, restaurants, furniture manufacturing and tourism.

“Is this outside our attention and focus? The answer is no, especially after the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) openly called for stronger enforcement.”

On Jan 30, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil conveyed a directive from the Prime Minister calling for firm action against foreigners abusing social visit passes to work or conduct business in Malaysia.

According to the Prime Minister’s statement, 54,791 individuals have been screened since last year as part of efforts to curb visa misuse and protect local employment opportunities.

The Prime Minister stressed that visitors entering Malaysia under social visit passes must comply strictly with the conditions attached to those passes and warned that severe penalties would be imposed on violators.

The directive also instructed enforcement agencies to strengthen monitoring before arrival, at entry points and within the country to prevent abuse of immigration facilities.

 The Sun Malaysia