Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Immigration Department (JIM) has announced plans to collaborate with the Ministry of Communications to pinpoint individuals responsible for leaking information about the department’s recent operation in Keningau. The information, which was widely circulated on WhatsApp, has significantly disrupted the agency’s activities.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the director of the Sabah Immigration Department, Datuk Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yusof, expressed concerns over the irresponsible sharing of real-time updates on enforcement movements. She noted that individuals not only captured photographs of immigration vehicles but also had informants, known locally as ‘tontos,’ tracking the enforcement operations. This deliberate dissemination of information in WhatsApp groups served to alert others about the ongoing operation, thus undermining its effectiveness.
Datuk Sh Sitti Saleha emphasized the department’s commitment to identifying those responsible for the leaks, stating that intelligence efforts would be employed in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications. Additionally, the department is working closely with the Royal Malaysia Police to address the situation.
There is suspicion that some of those spreading the information may be foreigners with vested interests. Datuk Sh Sitti Saleha warned that if Malaysian citizens are involved, they are compromising national sovereignty by acting as informants and enabling illegal immigrants to evade capture.
In related enforcement activities, Sh Sitti Saleha reported that a total of 462 individuals were inspected during operations in Tawau and Semporna, which took place from yesterday until this morning. Out of these, 139 individuals were detained for various offences, including not possessing identification documents. The detained individuals, ranging from ages one to 72, consist of 53 men, 37 women, and 49 children. They have all been placed at the Tawau Immigration Depot. The operations involved 66 immigration enforcement personnel and targeted construction sites and squatter settlements.