GEORGE TOWN, May 11 — The government is closely monitoring the few “lorong tikus” that undocumented migrants use to sneak into the country and has made a few arrests at these entry points, said Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri.

He said the government has formed a special task force, led by the armed forces, consisting of all uniformed agencies to closely monitor all entry points into the country.

“Foreigners are still not allowed to enter Malaysia, we have only allowed Malaysians from overseas coming home and they had to undergo compulsory quarantine, but foreigners, regardless if they have family here, they are not allowed to enter,” he said in his daily press conference today.

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The minister said the government is aware of the “lorong tikus” used by undocumented migrants to sneak into the country.

“We know there are lorong tikus in the western side of the peninsular, we are aware of the ones in Sabah at Lahad Datu and Semporna and the ones on land in Sarawak that borders the neighbouring country,” he said.

He said all of these areas have been identified and due to the collaboration between all uniformed bodies under the taskforce, they are better able to control and stop any illegal entry into the country. 

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“I did not announce this before but we have made some arrests, we have arrested captains (tekong-tekong) trying to bring people into the country,” he said. 

He said the special task force will ensure foreigners would not be able to slip through any of the “lorong tikus” to get into the country illegally.

Malaysia has closed the borders to foreigners from March 18 at the start of the movement control order (MCO) due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. 

Although the country is now in a conditional MCO, only Malaysians overseas are allowed to enter the country, subject to a compulsory two-week quarantine, while foreigners are still strictly banned from entering.