Malaysian immigration authorities announced on September 10 that 140 undocumented foreigners were sent back to their home countries through Kuala Lumpur International Airport the previous day.
The group had been held at the Belantik Immigration Depot in Kedah before being put on flights home. It comprised 117 men, 21 women, and two young boys, hailing from nine countries: Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Kenya.
Officials said the deportees were processed for various immigration offenses and were only repatriated after serving out their court-mandated prison sentences. The Malaysian government did not foot the bill for their travel—the flight tickets were paid for by the deportees themselves, their families, or their respective embassies. To top it off, all 140 individuals have been blacklisted in the system, barring them from ever re-entering Malaysia.
Across local towns, it is common to see migrant workers prepping food at roadside stalls, hauling cement on construction sites, or making deliveries on motorbikes—often hustling multiple jobs just to sleep in a cramped shared room. For this group, the long journey ended in a bitter reality: serving time, paying fines, buying their own ticket out, and having the door slammed shut on any chance of coming back.
