Policy on intake of North Korean workers stays: Masir Kujat

KUCHING: The policy on the intake of foreign workers from North Korea for certain economic sectors is continued based on the existing procedure.
Deputy Home Minister Masir Kujat (pix) said the intake would depend on the need of the private sector in the construction and coal mining sectors.
It is learnt that there are curently more than 70 North Korean workers with working permits in Sarawak.
Masir said, as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak yesterday, the diplomatic relations between Malaysia and North Korea was intact and the people of North Korea were free to visit this country and vice versa.
He said this at a media conference after the state level outstanding service award and presentation of appointment credentials for Board of Visiting Justices ceremony at the Sarawak Prisons Office, Jalan Puncak Borneo today.
He also confirmed that the Sarawak Immigration Department had detained several North Koreans for working without permits and they had been deported.
However, Masir said he could not divulge off hand as the statistics were not available with him.
On convicts, Masir said there were 58,000 convicts in prisons nationwide including 2,078 in prisons in Sarawak.
He said 30% of convicts in Sarawak were foreigners, the majority of whom abused their social visit passes to work or had expired work permits.
Earlier, in his speech, Masir said that the crime rate in Sarawak was the lowest compared to other states if measured in terms of the number of inmates compared to the existing prison capacity. — Bernama