Malaysia targets undocumented workers in 10,374 immigration operations, arresting 37,313 migrants. Senator Chaiyong says southern Thai families depend on cross-border jobs worth ฿200 billion annually. Now he wants Bangkok to secure new work permits.
Malaysia’s ruthless immigration crackdown threatens a major economic lifeline for southern Thailand. Senator Chaiyong Maneerungsakul warns that over 200,000 Thais previously worked across the border, generating ฿200 billion annually. Now, Malaysian officers have arrested 37,313 undocumented migrants in nine months, with restaurant raids netting thousands more. Over 2,300 Thais have been arrested for immigration pass offences since January 2025. Meanwhile, just 12,629 Thais hold valid restaurant-sector employment passes. With family incomes at stake and employers facing prosecution, Chaiyong demands urgent government talks with Kuala Lumpur. He wants special work permits for southern Thais. Previous negotiations failed, and no agreement has emerged.
A leading Thai senator has warned that Malaysia’s immigration crackdown threatens employment and income across Thailand’s southern border provinces.
Senator Chaiyong Maneerungsakul claims more than 200,000 Thais previously worked in Malaysia, generating at least ฿200 billion annually. However, Malaysian figures identify only 12,629 Thai nationals holding valid employment passes in restaurant-related occupations. Meanwhile, immigration officers arrested 37,313 undocumented migrants during the first nine months of 2026.
Restaurant businesses face particularly intensive enforcement, with thousands arrested under a separate nationwide operation. Chaiyong is demanding urgent negotiations with Kuala Lumpur to secure special work permits and protect southern Thai employment.
Senator warns 200,000 Thai workers and ฿200 billion in remittances are threatened by Malaysian crackdown
Speaking in Songkhla on Monday, 12 October, Senator Chaiyong Maneerungsakul raised concerns about the consequences for southern Thai families. The senator, representing the media profession, said Malaysian employment had supported border communities for generations.
Previously, more than 200,000 people from southern Thailand worked across the border, according to Chaiyong. They included workers with valid employment permits and others working without legal documentation.
Many found employment in Malaysia’s extensive Thai restaurant industry. Others established businesses, particularly restaurants specialising in tom yum kung.
Indeed, Thai restaurants operate throughout Malaysian states, employing cooks, restaurant staff and entrepreneurs from southern Thailand. Additionally, Thai nationals work in other industries, supporting families facing limited employment opportunities at home.
Chaiyong claimed these workers previously generated at least ฿200 billion annually for Thailand. He said much of this income supported families struggling with unemployment and poverty.
Consequently, losing Malaysian employment would directly affect household finances across southern Thailand, he warned. However, the senator provided no independent documentation supporting the ฿200 billion estimate. Nor did he establish when the reported workforce exceeded 200,000.
High work permit costs leave Thai workers exposed to arrest as Malaysia intensifies immigration raids
The figure refers to historical employment rather than a verified current workforce. Nevertheless, Chaiyong said Malaysia’s tightening immigration enforcement had created serious problems for Thai workers. In particular, he identified the high cost of employment permits as a major obstacle. Many workers could not afford the required documentation, he said. As a result, they continued working without valid permits and faced possible arrest.
Furthermore, Malaysian immigration officers have intensified workplace inspections and enforcement operations. Chaiyong said undocumented Thai workers were increasingly forced to conceal their employment and avoid immigration officers.
Meanwhile, Malaysia had warned undocumented foreign workers to leave the country. Businesses employing workers without valid documentation also faced inspections, arrests and legal proceedings.
In response, Chaiyong urged Thailand’s Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene directly. He wants negotiations with Malaysia’s central government to establish special employment arrangements for southern Thai nationals.
His warning follows a major immigration campaign involving tens of thousands of arrests. On 3 October, Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail disclosed nationwide enforcement figures covering January to September 2026.
Malaysia arrests 37,313 undocumented migrants as restaurant raids target thousands of foreign workers
Between 1 January and 29 September, immigration officers conducted 10,374 operations across Malaysia. During these operations, officers inspected 137,603 people and arrested 37,313 undocumented migrants.
Additionally, immigration teams arrested 1,809 employers over offences involving undocumented foreign workers. Of those employers, 1,692 were Malaysian citizens. However, the figures cover multiple nationalities and cannot establish the number of Thai workers arrested.
Separately, Malaysian officials released further statistics on Tuesday, 13 October, concerning illegal business operations involving foreign nationals. More than 25,000 foreigners were arrested during enforcement operations conducted between 2024 and September 2026.
Notably, the largest number of arrests occurred under Ops Selera, targeting restaurants and food preparation businesses. That programme accounted for 19,301 foreign nationals arrested during the reporting period. In parallel, immigration officers arrested 1,341 employers under the same operation.
Malaysian immigration chief questions claims of 200,000 Thai workers as official permit figures emerge
These figures place restaurants among the principal targets of Malaysia’s immigration enforcement campaign. This directly concerns Thailand’s southern workforce, which has longstanding employment links with Malaysia’s restaurant industry.
Thai cooks are an established part of that sector. Likewise, Thai-owned restaurants operate across Malaysia, including businesses specialising in tom yum dishes.
However, Malaysian immigration officials have challenged claims concerning the total number of Thai nationals employed in these businesses. Immigration Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban recently disclosed official employment figures covering Thai nationals working in restaurant-related occupations. As of 15 September 2026, only 12,629 Thai nationals held active temporary employment passes in those occupations.
Of these, 12,541 were registered as Thai cooks. Another 43 were classified as restaurant crew members, while 38 worked in eateries. Additionally, seven were registered under the restaurant worker category. The figures provide a detailed breakdown of Thai nationals legally employed in specified restaurant occupations.
Crucially, they do not represent the total number of Thai nationals working throughout Malaysia. Workers employed in other industries are excluded from this restaurant-specific breakdown.
Neither are undocumented workers included in Malaysia’s employment registration system. Zakaria also questioned claims that approximately 200,000 Thai nationals worked across 5,000 Malaysian tom yum restaurants. He said those estimates could not be verified.
Over 2,300 Thais arrested for immigration pass offences as fresh Selangor raids net 11 more nationals
The Malaysian figures therefore differ sharply from the historical workforce numbers cited by Chaiyong. Nevertheless, they cover different categories and periods. They cannot establish how many Thai nationals have lost employment.
Separately, Zakaria disclosed that 2,316 Thai nationals had been arrested for misusing immigration passes. These arrests occurred between January 2025 and 15 September 2026.
The figures confirm that Thai nationals have been directly affected by Malaysia’s immigration enforcement operations. Moreover, further arrests followed during raids in Selangor earlier this month. On 7 October, Malaysian immigration officers targeted nine locations in Seri Kembangan and Bandar Baru Klang.
During the operation, officers inspected 307 people and arrested 174 foreign nationals. Among those arrested were 11 Thai nationals. Six Malaysian employers were also arrested.
According to Zakaria, suspected offences included overstaying and misuse of immigration passes. Other cases involved foreign nationals who failed to possess valid travel documents.
Following the raids, the arrested foreigners were transferred to the Semenyih Immigration Detention Depot. Investigations continued into their immigration status and suspected offences. Meanwhile, Malaysian immigration officials reported further enforcement statistics on 8 October.
Malaysia reports 1,880 employer arrests and RM41 million in penalties as Thai senator demands action
By that date, employer arrests had reached 1,880. Officials also reported collecting RM41 million in compound penalties. These figures provide further evidence of Malaysia’s extensive enforcement operations against undocumented foreign employment.
For Thai workers, the campaign has particular implications for restaurants, food businesses and other workplaces employing foreign nationals.
Employers face penalties for immigration offences. Meanwhile, foreign workers without valid permits face arrest and possible removal. Against this background, Chaiyong has demanded urgent action from the Thai government. His central proposal involves special employment permits for Thai nationals originating from the southern border provinces.
He argued that Thailand and Malaysia already possess established arrangements supporting cross-border cooperation. Specifically, he cited sister-city agreements linking five southern Thai provinces with five neighbouring Malaysian states. These agreements provide an existing framework for relations between communities on both sides of the border.
Senator cites cultural ties and lower travel costs in push for special Malaysian work permits for Thais
Furthermore, Chaiyong highlighted longstanding religious, linguistic and cultural connections between southern Thailand and Malaysia. He said these relationships distinguished southern Thai workers from many other foreign nationals seeking Malaysian employment. Geographical proximity also makes Malaysia an accessible employment destination for residents of southern Thailand.
Workers can cross the border without the substantial travel costs associated with employment in distant countries. Consequently, Chaiyong argued that Malaysian employment remained particularly important for lower-income southern Thai families.
He also pointed to Malaysia’s continuing demand for foreign labour. Accordingly, he proposed negotiations allowing southern Thai nationals to obtain employment permits under special arrangements.
Such an agreement would require approval from Malaysia’s central government. Its existing foreign worker system requires approved employment arrangements, employer quotas and appropriate immigration documentation. Permission to enter Malaysia does not automatically provide permission to work. Therefore, Thai nationals employed without valid permits remain subject to Malaysian immigration enforcement.
Previous efforts to legalise Thai workers fail as senator demands direct talks with Malaysian government
Chaiyong acknowledged that previous attempts to resolve the problem had failed to secure an agreement. He said the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre, or SBPAC, had already pursued discussions concerning undocumented Thai workers.
Representatives of political parties with electoral support in southern Thailand had also attempted to address the issue.
However, the senator said these efforts had not received a positive response from Malaysia’s central government. He therefore called for direct involvement by Thailand’s Labour Minister and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Regional discussions had failed to resolve the employment problem, he argued. Instead, he wants negotiations conducted directly between the Thai government and Kuala Lumpur.
“It is the duty of the Thai government, the Minister of Labour, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prioritise and seriously negotiate with the Malaysian central government on the issues of Thai workers, in order to solve unemployment and poverty in the southern border provinces,” Chaiyong said.
Southern Thai families face reduced earnings as Malaysian restaurant crackdown threatens employment
The senator linked the employment issue directly to economic conditions in southern Thailand. He said families in the border provinces had long depended on income earned by relatives working in Malaysia.
In particular, restaurant employment provided opportunities for workers unable to secure adequate income at home. Other industries also employed Thai nationals, providing additional sources of household income.
However, undocumented employment leaves workers exposed to Malaysian immigration inspections and arrests. Consequently, Chaiyong warned that continued enforcement could reduce earnings returning to southern Thailand. His concerns also extend to Thai-owned businesses operating in Malaysia. Restaurants employing workers without valid documentation face the same immigration enforcement measures as other Malaysian businesses.
Furthermore, Malaysia’s Ops Selera campaign has specifically targeted restaurants and food preparation establishments. The programme’s 19,301 foreign national arrests demonstrate the scale of enforcement within that sector. However, Malaysian officials have not established how many of those arrested were Thai nationals. Similarly, the number of Thai-owned restaurants affected by enforcement operations remains unconfirmed.
Thai ambassador and southern border officials discuss employment but no new work permit deal is announced
Meanwhile, Thai diplomatic representatives have already discussed employment and economic cooperation with southern border officials. On 24 September, Thai Ambassador to Malaysia Lada Phumas met an SBPAC delegation at the Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. The delegation was led by the centre’s acting secretary-general.
During the meeting, representatives discussed economic development and vocational skills. They also examined initiatives intended to benefit Thai nationals working in Malaysia. Additionally, the embassy identified opportunities for cooperation in halal industries, agriculture and livestock. Tourism and education were also included in the discussions.
However, the meeting did not produce an announced agreement establishing special employment permits for southern Thai workers. Nor was an arrangement disclosed for regularising undocumented Thai nationals already working in Malaysia. Nevertheless, the talks demonstrate that cross-border employment and economic cooperation were already on the diplomatic agenda.
Chaiyong’s latest intervention now places additional attention on negotiations involving Malaysia’s central government. The central issue remains the distinction between documented employment and work undertaken without valid immigration permission. Malaysia continues to enforce its immigration and employment regulations against undocumented foreign workers. Employers who recruit or employ workers outside the legal system also face enforcement action.
Malaysian figures leave Thai job losses unconfirmed as remittance claims remain without verification
Meanwhile, Thailand faces concerns over the potential reduction of employment opportunities for residents of its southern border provinces. The confirmed employment figures provide an important distinction.
Malaysia has identified 12,629 Thai nationals holding active temporary employment passes in specified restaurant occupations. However, that figure cannot establish the total Thai workforce across Malaysia.
Likewise, Chaiyong’s historical estimate of more than 200,000 workers has not been independently verified. The two figures cannot therefore be used to calculate the number of Thai workers who have lost their jobs. The senator’s claim concerning ฿200 billion in annual remittances also remains unsubstantiated by independent figures.
No verified current estimate of remittances from Thai workers in Malaysia was included in the available information. Nevertheless, Malaysian enforcement statistics confirm extensive operations involving undocumented workers and their employers. Restaurant businesses have been a major focus, while Thai nationals have been arrested in recent operations.
Bangkok seeks Malaysian work permit solution as immigration raids continue and no agreement is reached
For Chaiyong, the immediate objective is a negotiated employment arrangement covering southern Thai workers. He wants the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to pursue that objective directly with Kuala Lumpur. The Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre has already participated in discussions concerning employment cooperation.
However, no new bilateral agreement on special work permits had been announced as of 13 October. Malaysian immigration officers continue enforcing existing employment regulations. Thai workers without valid permits remain exposed to arrest, while employers face inspections and penalties.
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For southern Thai communities, the employment issue now rests on Malaysia’s enforcement campaign and further government discussions. The senator has called for negotiations. Kuala Lumpur has yet to announce the special employment arrangements he is seeking.
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