Authorities to go after migrants again, vaccination concerns raised

 

Law enforcers are prepared to make more arrests against those found flouting Covid-19 SOPs during the two-week lockdown beginning June 1, according to Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin.

He said this will include arrests at sea and at illegal routes to stop the entry of undocumented migrants. There will be joint inspections on migrant settlements nationwide as well.

"SOPs compliance must be enhanced, particularly at illegal routes used as migrant landing points.

"As for the Immigration Department, we have discussed, there must be joint operations with the National Registration Department because we feel it has been a year of various SOPs and MCOs [...] if there are those still stubborn, I mean the migrants, we will arrest them, we will make sure the prisons are ready," Hamzah said during a press conference at the Home Ministry in Putrajaya today.

Hamzah noted that an initial crackdown on undocumented migrants during the first lockdown last March had led to an overcrowding of prisons and detention depots.

"But this time we are ready, we have satellite prisons so that when they are arrested, there will be prison cells to put them in. The same goes for the Immigration Department's satellite depots," he said.

Overall, Hamzah said 55,000 police personnel would be deployed throughout the two-week lockdown, an increase from the current 37,000 personnel nationwide.

Additionally, he said the Home Ministry has also deployed another 15,000 personnel from other enforcement agencies under its watch.

 North-South Initiative executive director Adrian Pereira

Commenting on the matter, civil society organisation North-South Initiative's executive director Adrian Pereira said rounding up undocumented migrants during the lockdown period will have severe consequences for the ongoing National Immunisation Programme (NIP).

He said there were undocumented migrants currently going through a recalibration programme to legalise their status and there has been no official advisory on how they should get vaccinated.

"Any crackdown will push them further away from being vaccinated," said Pereira.

He said the government should consider shifting its focus towards vaccinating the migrant community rather than forcing them into hiding.

Malaysia recorded various prison and immigration detention depot Covid-19 clusters last year after a major exercise was launched against undocumented migrants, many of who went into hiding despite calls to be screened.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday announced Malaysia will start a three-phase "total lockdown" from June 1 to 14 with only essential economic and services sectors being allowed to operate.

This after record-breaking numbers of new daily Covid-19 cases recently, peaking at over 9,000 new infections today.  - Mkini