Health DG justifies detention of migrants amid Al Jazeera row

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (above) has justified the detention of undocumented migrants by Malaysian authorities amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

This comes after the authorities accused international broadcaster Al Jazeera of misinformation over its report on the detention of migrants during the various movement control order (MCO) periods.

Responding to the issue on Twitter, Noor Hisham stressed the migrants had to be locked up because they were "illegal".

"We have never welcomed illegal immigrants PATI to our country," he said, using the Malay acronym for an undocumented migrant.

Responding to a Twitter user who expressed disappointment over detention conditions which made migrants susceptible to Covid-19 infection, he again said: "The some you referred to were illegal undocumented migrants".

"It is certainly better than if they were out in the community," he said.

The remarks echo those of the Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob who has also defended the detention of migrants in crowded immigration detention depots because they were undocumented.

It was reported that dozens of Indian citizens who entered legally on social visit passes but were stranded when their return flights were cancelled were also nabbed in the raids and have been in immigration detention since early May.

The Indian High Commission said it is working with the Malaysian authorities to repatriate these detainees.

On June 12, an Indian citizen who entered Malaysia on a valid social visit pass, but was stranded during the MCO, died after more than a month in detention.

He tested positive for Covid-19 while in detention on May 26, 22 days after he was declared free of Covid-19 in an earlier test involving all Malayan Mansion residents on May 4. He was detained on May 8.

Noor Hisham earlier said the deceased had lung consolidation, a side effect of Covid-19, but the cause of his death was unknown pending the completion of the post-mortem report.

'Ensure worker dorms are not cramped'

In May, the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights of migrants Felipe Gonzales Morales said the crackdown on migrants would spook them from seeking health services while physical distancing may not be possible in detention facilities.

Before the raids, Ismail Sabri assured that immigration status would not be a concern when migrants come forward for testing.

After the raids, Malaysia experienced its sharpest spike in cases - 277 cases in a single day - of which most were from immigration detention centres.

More than 700 immigration detainees tested positive, including a four-year-old boy who was found to be infected when tested as a final condition for deportation.

The outbreak has since been contained with most detainees discharged from treatment.

Meanwhile, Noor Hisham reiterated his call to secure national borders and urged employers to ensure migrant worker dorms were hygienic and would allow for social distancing.

"In our preventive public health measures and control of Covid-19 transmission, we must enhance and tighten our border control.

"The virus doesn’t differentiate between documented or undocumented travellers.

"All arrivals including Malaysian returnees must be tested and quarantined," he said. - Mkini