Enough facilities to cater for rise in immigration depot cases - minister

CORONAVIRUS | The government is confident it has prepared enough facilities to tend to any potential rise in positive Covid-19 outbreak among immigration depot detainees.

Aside from the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS), Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob today reiterated that the Sungai Buloh Leprosy Centre and an unused maternity ward at Kuala Lumpur Hospital have also been placed as treatment centres for cases originating from the immigration depot cluster.

He said this when asked on government measures to be taken should the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise at the three detention centres in Bukit Jalil, Semenyih and Sepang or be detected at other depots.

“As stated before, we are ready... up to today, 230 cases were sent to MAEPS. MAEPS alone can handle up to 600 patients,” he said.

"Meaning, (we) have enough beds to accommodate even if there is an increase  (in Covid-19 cases) among undocumented migrants at other depots," he said. 

Ismail had previously stated that the three treatment facilities could cater up to 1,430 patients.

Yesterday, 155 out of the 187 new Covid-19 cases recorded were detected at the Bukit Jalil Immigration Detention Depot.

This brought the total cases to 281, making the Bukit Jalil immigration depot the second-largest Covid-19 cluster in the country, after the Seri Petaling tabligh cluster that involved 3,369 people. 

Meanwhile, the number of cases found at the Semenyih and Sepang Immigration Detention Depots is 66 cases (including one Immigration Department staff) and 36 cases respectively.

Yesterday, Ismail Sabri spoke of how the construction sites migrant workers could be protected via an amendment of Workers' Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990, which was passed in Parliament in September 2019 but yet to be implemented.

Revisiting the matter today, he said this law and standard operation procedures (SOPs) would not be applied for undocumented migrant workers.

"There is no SOP for undocumented migrants (to protect their welfare) as they entered the country illegally," he said, adding that undocumented migrants will be arrested by enforcement authorities.

In a statement today, the Human Resources Ministry said the amended act will be enforced by September to give more time for the private sector to prepare.

The amendment was done to ensure all migrant workers enjoyed a minimum living standard at accommodations provided by their employers.

Under the amended act, employers will need to provide a nursery if their employees collectively have at least five dependents under four years of age. The employer is also prohibited from charging their employees for accommodation provided. - Mkini