On March 1, the home ministry announced that unused quotas for foreign workers would be cancelled on June 1 as it wanted to free up quotas for the hiring of foreign workers – which was frozen in March last year – by cancelling allocations given that were not used up as of May 31.

Responding to a viral video on the large number of foreign workers at KLIA Terminal 1, Ruslin attributed this to employers bringing in foreign workers “at the last minute” before May 31.

Ruslin explained that while KLIA Terminal 1 and 2 usually receive 500 to 1,000 foreign workers daily, the number increased to 2,500 on May 22 and reached between 4,000 and 4,500 on May 27.

“The immigration department expects the number of arrivals to continue increasing until tomorrow. This is based on information from airlines that they will increase the frequency of flights to meet demand,” he said in a statement.

Ruslin said the immigration department is working with Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd to manage congestion and ensure the comfort of KLIA’s passengers.

Apart from opening more counters to expedite the screening and verification of foreign workers, Ruslin said the immigration department has also increased the number of immigration officers at KLIA Terminal 1 and 2 to manage the influx.

Ruslin also said the foreign workers are being provided food and beverages.

He said the immigration department said it will continue to monitor the influx of foreign workers and urged employers to cooperate by expediting the immigration screening process for their workers. This is to reduce congestion at arrival halls.