KOTA BARU: The Lojing Bumiputera Vegetable and Flower Farmers Association has acknowledged that many farmers were forced to hire illegal migrants because the cost of hiring foreign workers legally can reach up to RM7,000 per worker.
The association's treasurer, Rahimin Ibrahim, said farmers face even greater losses when legally hired foreign workers flee.
He added that the influx of illegal migrants was also because locals, including the Orang Asli, showed little interest in working on farms.
"The issue of employing illegal migrants is not limited to the highlands of Lojing; it also occurs in oil palm plantations where they are hired.
"Locals are not interested in working on farms, even though the monthly salary can exceed RM2,000," he said in a statement.
On Monday, the Kelantan Immigration Department identified several vegetable operators in Lojing Highlands who have hired illegal migrants to work at their farms.
The department's acting director Nik Akhtarulhaq Nik Abdul Rahman said the department had received many reports on the presence of illegal workers and launched a massive operation recently, and detained 86 undocumented migrants.