The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) arrested five Immigration Department officers on August 3, 2026, for allegedly colluding to hack the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMs) to unlawfully process and approve Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. The suspects, four men and one woman aged in their 30s to 40s, were taken into custody around 1pm when they appeared at MACC headquarters for statement recording [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. A MACC source said preliminary investigations revealed all officers are suspected of hacking the system and approving PLKS applications without following proper procedures [1].
MACC seized five mobile phones belonging to the suspects for forensic examination [1, 3, 4, 5, 6] and has recorded statements from 17 individuals to assist the probe so far [1, 3, 4, 5, 6]. The case is being investigated under Sections 17(a) and 16(a) of the MACC Act 2009, said MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman [5]. The five arrested officers are expected to be remanded by the Putrajaya Magistrate's Court on August 4 [1, 3, 4, 5, 6].
The arrests come days after a larger operation on July 28, when MACC detained 12 individuals including six Immigration officers, two company directors, three foreign nationals, and a police officer linked to hacking and corruption involving MyIMMs [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. MACC has frozen about RM300,000 from bank accounts connected to the investigation, including accounts owned by individuals and companies [1, 3, 4, 5, 6].
Separately, the Immigration Department arrested eight Myanmar nationals—including a woman suspected of acting as an illegal agent for a syndicate—during a raid on August 1 in Bandar Mahkota Cheras [7, 8]. The syndicate exploited the compromised foreign worker management system to offer PLKS passes to foreigners without valid documentation or who had overstayed, charging fees between RM8,000 and RM10,000 per worker [7, 8]. Immigration Director General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban confirmed the Myanmar woman’s links to a Myanmar man believed to be the syndicate mastermind and previously detained by MACC during Op Crack [7, 8, 3, 6]. Zakaria said, "The syndicate is believed to have offered the passes to foreigners in the Klang Valley who did not possess valid passes or had overstayed in the country. It also supplied foreign workers to employers for payments of between RM8,000 and RM10,000 for each worker" [7].
The next step in the investigation involves the Putrajaya Magistrate’s Court hearing to decide remand orders for the five officers arrested on August 3.
