Hamzah dismisses claim of exorbitant prices for goods in detention camps

 

Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin does not believe that basic goods were sold at exorbitant prices to detainees at immigration detention centres.

This was despite multiple testimonies highlighting that necessities were marked up extensively for detainees.

“You know that is not true,” Hamzah (above) told reporters in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday.

He said this when asked about the experience of Chinese nationals who were held at the Pekan Nanas immigration depot last year.

The former detainees - who are now back in China - told Malaysiakini that getting basic necessities such as soap or bath towels could cost up to RM100, and food was similarly expensive.

The goods were allegedly acquired through an immigration officer who presented himself as the “boss” of their detention bloc, with payments being made to a bank account under a different name than that of the officer.

A 2019 report by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission stated that detainees were only given soap and other sanitary items such as toothpaste only once throughout their entire stay, which contributed to the spread of skin diseases among inmates.

Refugee rights activist Heidi Quah had also detailed in 2020 that one cup of instant noodles cost RM12 at the provisions store in an immigration detention centre.

Quah also said that a detainee who had an infant in her care was in need of diapers, but that the immigration officers at the detention centre would only accept cash donations instead of the actual item. - Mkini