A TOTAL of 858 undocumented foreign nationals were repatriated to their countries of origin under the first phase of Malaysia’s 2026 Undocumented Migrants Repatriation Programme, implemented by the Sabah Immigration Department through Sandakan Port on Wednesday.
Sabah Immigration director Datuk SH Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof said the operation, carried out on January 15, involved the deportation of 844 Filipino nationals who were sent back by sea from Sandakan Port to Zamboanga City in the Philippines aboard the vessel MV Antonia 1.
“All the detainees were transferred from the Kota Kinabalu, Papar, Sandakan and Tawau Immigration Depots, comprising 519 adult men, 215 adult women, 92 children aged 12 and below, as well as 18 infants aged 23 months and below,” she said in a statement.
She added that the detainees ranged in age from as young as two months to 72 years old, with children repatriated together with their respective parents or guardians.
According to Sitti Saleha, the programme also included the repatriation of six Pakistani nationals, one Vietnamese national and one Chinese national to their respective home countries.
“This brings the total number of foreign nationals repatriated at the beginning of 2026 to 858, involving both sea and air transportation,” she said.
She stressed that the Sabah Immigration Department would continue to take firm and uncompromising action against employers who hire or shelter undocumented foreign workers.
“Employers may be prosecuted under the Immigration Act 1959/63, including fines of up to RM50,000, imprisonment and caning for offences involving abetment or harbouring undocumented migrants,” she said. - January 16, 2026
