This happened after the couple, Albert, and his Indonesian wife, Mery, went to the immigration office in Seberang Jaya here for the second time yesterday together with Seberang Perai municipal councillor K Jason Raj.

The immigration officer, who is a department head, told the couple and the councillor to “suruh dia balik guna kapal layar” (take a ship back home) when they produced a government hospital letter stating that the 20-year-old pregnant woman was not fit to fly or take a long-distance trip.

The woman is expected to deliver a baby boy on Nov 29.

The couple and the councillor had gone to the immigration office to ask that the woman, who is carrying her first child, be allowed to stay in the country until she delivers. Her permit expires on Monday.

Raj said the couple had come to him for help after immigration officers told them that the woman could not extend her pass.

Raj said he had then accompanied them to the immigration office and introduced himself as a municipal councillor. He said an officer at the counter had brought him and the couple to meet the department head.

“As soon as we entered the room, the officer asked ‘you siapa, apa yang you mau?’ (Who are you, what do you want?) in a loud, rude tone.

“I kept calm and asked him what we should do to extend the Indonesian woman’s stay until she delivers.

“He then rudely told the Indonesian woman to go back on a ship (kapal layar). He also said ‘kenapa datang sini, hantar dia balik negara dialah’ (Why did she come here, send her home to her country).

“I then told him to be respectful and compassionate. I also said he should treat me respectfully as a councillor, the same way I respected him.

“The officer then said he did not need to be so as he was the department head.

“The officer then stood up and accused me of abusing my power to help the couple.

“I was merely there to ask about the procedure to help people in situations such as this,” Raj said at a press conference in Perai here today.

Raj said due to the officer’s accusation of misuse of power, he had lodged a police report to protect himself from baseless accusations.

Albert meanwhile explained that his wife was given a two-year work permit when she joined a local factory as an operator in February last year.

He said his wife quit her job in February this year and had been going back and forth to Medan to renew her monthly visitor’s pass.

Albert said he registered his marriage on Sept 24 and had a church wedding on Sept 29. He was then told by immigration authorities that he had to wait six months to obtain a spousal visa, due to the “cooling-off period” set by the department.

He said he had tried to apply for a medical visa but was told by the authorities that his wife had to be “bedridden, hospitalised or in a critical condition”.

He said the immigration officers had suggested that she cross over to Thailand or Singapore to renew her pass.

However, Albert said that was risky as her pass might be denied.

“I am now in a dilemma. Either I risk my wife’s pregnancy by sending her off on a plane or hope for a miracle.”

FMT has contacted immigration director-general Mustafar Ali and Penang immigration director Meor Hezbullah Meor Abd Malik for comment.