Monitor migrants at Taman Pandan Mewah, says rep

Chempaka assemblyperson Iskandar Abdul Samad has called on authorities to keep tabs on the sizeable migrant community in Taman Pandan Mewah, following complaints about possible unlawful business operations, mosquitoes and a lack of cleanliness.

After taking enforcement authorities including the police, immigration, the Ampang Jaya local council (MPAJ) as well as the media on a “location survey” to several shops located on the ground floor of some walk-up flats, he listed his requests.  

“All the people selling things here are migrants, and they are selling goods to serve the migrant community here. All the bosses of the shops were not present.

“I hope MPAJ will investigate to see if licenses have been rented to migrants,” he told a press conference today.

The survey found many businesses, while run by migrants, had permits that belonged to people bearing what appeared to be Malaysian names. It also found broken goods like washing machines and car tyres scattered in piles throughout the car park below the flats.

“I have received complaints about (these piles of goods) attracting rats and becoming mosquito breeding grounds. Action needs to be taken,” he added.

Iskandar had approached a Rohingya woman who was selling clothes on tables by the carpark and asked her for identification, to which she produced her UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card.

“The woman told me that more than 1,000 of them live here, and she did not have any identification documents from the Malaysian government besides her UNHCR card.

“Immigration needs to investigate if they came into the country legally or not. They need to monitor and document them.

“They need documentation from the Malaysian government,” he added.

Immigration: Refugees can’t run businesses

Seated alongside Iskandar at the press conference was Selangor immigration deputy assistant director Ramli Othman, who clarified that migrants were not allowed to run businesses, regardless of whether they possessed a UNHCR card proving their refugee status.  

“According to Immigration law, they are not allowed to run businesses, and the people who employ them are also at fault.

“The UNHCR card only proves that they are refugees, and states they are to be moved to a third country. It is not for them to live here in Malaysia (permanently),” he said.

When asked about what his department could do about registering refugees despite Malaysia not recognising the rights of refugees by virtue of not ratifying the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, Ramli answered that this was beyond the Immigration’s jurisdiction as an enforcement agency.

“That is an issue of policy,” he added.

Countries who sign the convention are compelled to allow refugees to work and access to education. 

Even so, Iskandar maintained that the federal government needed to register the ballooning migrant community in Malaysia to ease enforcement and monitoring.

“If Malaysians need licenses and permits (to run businesses), how come refugees don’t need to?

“They need to respect the same laws as locals,” he said.

Malaysia is home to an estimated 150,000 refugees, many of them from Myanmar.

-Mkini