Maria Chin: Now is not the time to go after migrants, especially children

Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah has hit out against the rounding-up of migrants, especially children, during operations to combat the Covid-19 outbreak. 

"Over the past few weeks, we have seen an alarming trend of migrants being rounded up and detained.

"This includes the raids at foreign worker enclaves at the KL Wholesale Market, Selayang (May 11) and Jalan Masjid India (May 1).

"Meanwhile, following the announcement of the reinforced movement control order (MCO) at Pudu recently, there is also fear that the large migrant community there would also be rounded up," said Maria (photo) in a statement today.

She noted that the Alliance of Chin Refugees has estimated a total of 300 members of the Chin community alone are living in the affected lockdown area.

"Now is not the time to be going after migrants, including children, by rounding them up or detaining them. If this carries on, we will see more and more refugees not wanting to seek help from the authorities as they fear being detained once tested positive, or even negative, for Covid-19," she added.

She said what the authorities should be doing instead is to encourage them to come forward to be tested without fear.

"They are, after all, our guests and have helped us build our economy. We should respect their rights and freedom."

She also drew attention to the fact that today is International Day of Living Together in Peace and there is an online campaign calling for a world without violence towards refugees and migrants.

"The ‘Another Way Is Possible’ campaign, will be held from 3-5pm today, and I urge all to join this campaign to show our support and solidarity with migrants and refugees by using the hashtag #MigranJugaManusia on social media - Twitter, Facebook, TikTok or Instagram.

"This crisis goes beyond just you and me, it involves all of us," she said.

Relief operations in PJ Old Town

Maria also said that following the announcement of the enhanced MCO at PJ Old Town, her office has been working round-the-clock to help the authorities,  especially the Welfare Department, to aid affected residents.

"Within the first 12 hours of the enhanced MCO, we managed to provide our first batch of essential supplies to residents with the help of JKM and Rela. We provided each household with 12 items including packets of rice, canned items, milk, bihun, instant noodles, and cooking oil," she said, adding that the items were purchased using funds her office had collected during fundraising campaigns for struggling families affected by the Covid 19 lockdown.

"In addition to this, we also received donations from sponsors including from UNHCR, Imaret, Sin Chew Foundation, Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple, Hasanah Foundation and Journey. The donations came within a few hours after the call was made," she said.

She also expressed her gratitude to volunteers from the local Old Town Rukun Tetangga, JKM, and NGOs Epic and Childline who helped pack the items to be distributed to the residents as well as migrants and refugees.

"My office has also been coordinating with Bukit Gasing assemblyperson Rajiv Rishyakaran, Taman Medan representative Ustaz Syamsul Firdaus and MBPJ councillor Ermeemarianna Saadon to regularly distribute food including meat, fish and vegetables to affected residents and migrants since the enhanced MCO began this week.

"Collectively, our distribution has been reaching a total of 620 households (250 in Section 2 and 370 in Sections 3 and 4)," said Maria.

She also discovered that some of the PJ Old Town residents, especially those in their 80s and 90s, have been depending on nearby shops and family living elsewhere for their daily meals as they cannot cook for themselves.

"They often live in cramped conditions with sometimes as many as 15 elderly individuals occupying a single building.

"Many of the Old Town community, in particular, those not affected by the enhanced MCO have reached out to us to help these individuals. As a result, we have been working to provide cooked meals (lunch and dinner) to elderly individuals who cannot cook.

"Rajiv and the Old Town Rukun Tetangga have been delivering cooked meals to 20 individuals in Section 2, while my office has teamed up with Masala Wheels to provide 45 individuals in Sections 3 and 4 with their meals.

"We will continue to provide cooked meals for as long as Old Town is placed under the enhanced MCO," said Maria.

She added that as they move into the second week of the enhanced MCO in PJ Old Town, more than 2,000 residents out of a total of 2,900 have been tested for Covid-19.

"Hopefully, as we start to get the results of the Covid-19 testing, we will see the enhanced MCO in the area coming to an end soon," she said. - Mkini