BUTTERWORTH: Poor security at the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas has been blamed for the influx of illegal workers in the state.

State Welfare, Health and Caring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said lax security at the airport allowed foreigners to illegally enter the state.

"They loiter around the arrival area, for instance at the shops or in the toilets, and wait for the queue at immigration and customs to clear. When there are no officers manning the counters, they will walk out undetected."

Phee said this after attending the International Workers Memorial Day at a monument beside the Penang Bridge toll plaza in Prai yesterday.

Phee placed a wreath at the monument which was built in memory of those who were killed during the construction of the Penang Bridge.

He said syndicates and employment agencies were aware of the lax security and were taking advantage of the situation to bring in more illegal workers.

"We are also aware of employers who employ foreign workers instead of locals."

Asked whether the airport authority was aware of the problem, Phee said they should know of it as it was not a new problem and had been highlighted by the press. -NST