Kuala lumpur: The Immigration Department will cancel all temporary employment visit passes (PLKS) found to have been approved by syndicates linked to the hacking of the Immigration Department's online immigration system (MyIMMs) through the recent Op Crack. Its director-general, Datuk Zakaria Shaaban, stated that the department would track down all pass holders before enforcement action is taken.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, all PLKS approved will be cancelled, and authorities will track down those believed to be involved in their respective work sectors. "For the time being, they have been identified to be in certain locations that cannot be revealed as they might escape," Zakaria said at a media conference with Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman at the MACC Headquarters.

Zakaria noted that the illegal approvals of PLKS were detected early this year but were not stopped immediately as they were gathering intelligence to identify the mastermind. "This matter cannot happen if it didn't involve 'people on the inside'. we found them installing dongles on computers and using administrator usernames to create new usernames to approve the PLKS," he explained.

He added that two companies are suspected to be involved in the application and approval of illegal PLKS but did not reveal their identities. "The MACC has also called four individuals to record their statements and will call several more as witnesses to assist investigations," he said, adding that more arrests and seizures will be conducted soon.

Abd Halim explained that Op Crack started as a result of the sharing of intelligence between the Immigration Department and the MACC since May before it was conducted on July 28, involving multiple agencies including the MACC Intelligence Division's Special Projects Branch, the Immigration Intelligence Division, the Malaysian Securities Commission, Telekom Malaysia, the National Cyber Security Agency, and the MACC Technology Forensics Division.

The MACC had earlier detained 12 individuals - four Immigration officers and two Immigration Technology Information Division officers, two company directors, three foreigners, and a police officer, aged in their 30s to 40s, on suspicions of being involved in the hacking and illegal approval of PLKS.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the syndicate had approved 1,306 fake PLKS using the 2011 quota without any payment of pass levy, causing estimated losses of RM2.4 million to the government. The syndicate also paid Immigration officers involved between RM1,000 to RM6,000 for each PLKS approval.

The MACC also seized movable property, including currencies of RM186,000 and SGD700, jewellery worth RM15,700, electronic gadgets worth RM36,000, seven 0.2 gram (g) gold bars, one 2 g gold bar, a gold necklace, a gold bangle, and a gold keychain with an estimated total of RM15,700, while the freezing of individual and company bank accounts is underway.

Abd Halim added that the MACC will request remand extensions for all 12 individuals as their remand period ends today.