Social Impact of Illegal Immigrants on the Macro System in Malaysia: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The influx of illegal immigrants, locally known as PATI (Pendatang Asing Tanpa Izin), has become one of the major concerns in Malaysia as its social impact could pose a threat to public and national security. Following from this, a Social Impact Assessment (SIA) study was conducted to identify its direct and indirect positive and/or negative effects on the macro system in Malaysia. The findings of the study confirmed that there were positive and negative implications towards the following aspects: health and social wellbeing; physical and environment; legislation and basic human rights; management and handling of refugee or illegal immigrants; national security; and additional commitments for government and enforcement agencies. All these have also affected the policy decision making of the government. From the study, six recommendations were suggested: 1) streamlining law enforcement via cooperation with other affected neighbouring countries, 2) organising awareness program among Malaysians regarding the impact of illegal immigrants, 3) developing a comprehensive database on immigrants, 4) identifying factors that hinder the work of enforcement agencies on illegal immigrants, 5) study and review strategies to deal with the issue of illegal immigrants, and 6) establish an action plan to achieve Tier 1 in the Trafficking in Persons Report 2020.