6P programme

The 6P programme was a 2011 initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Malaysia to legalize as many as 2 million illegal immigrants working in the country.^[1][2] The programme is named after six Malay words: pendaftaran (registration), pemutihan (legalisation), pengampunan (amnesty), pemantauan (supervision), penguatkuasaan (enforcement), and pengusiran (deportation).^[3] A cabinet meeting was held on 22 June to consider the Home Ministry's proposal, which was planned to take effect on 1 July.^[4] Immigrants would have three weeks to enter the amnesty programme,^[3] a period during which the intake of foreign workers would be temporarily halted.^[4] Malaysia relies heavily on foreign workers, which made up 2 million of its workforce of 12 million. Illegal foreign workers in the country numbered an additional 2 million.^[5]

Since the programme's announcement on 6 June, immigration brokers such as those in Burma saw an increased demand for their services.^[6] In response to reports of agencies collecting money from immigrants for the legalisation process, the Malaysian government began blacklisting companies because it had not authorized the collection of payment.^[7]