Let wrongly convicted documented migrant exercise his right

 

We, the 19 undersigned groups, are pleased that the Tawau High Court judge Lim Hock Leng, after revision, acquitted documented migrant worker, Sabri Umar and ordered him released from prison immediately in July 22.

On April 19, Sabri was wrongly convicted of being in Malaysia illegally for the offence under Section 6(1)( c) Immigration Act 1959/63 by the Tawau Sessions Court, when in fact, he was a documented migrant worker with a valid work permit/pass at the material time.

This was a fact evident from, amongst others, Sabri’s Indonesian passport, which was taken by the police when he was arrested on April 5.

The court acknowledged the fact that Sabri (above) was whipped, which was an act against the law which prohibits the carrying out of the sentence of whipping until an appeal filed is heard and determined. This was also confirmed by the Prison Department.

The highlighting of Sabri’s miscarriage of justice, vide joint media statement by 45 groups and various letters, including from Sabri’s union, Sabah Timber Industry Employees Union (STIEU), got the High Court’s attention and led to the calling up of Sabri’s case for revision on July 22.

Worry about Sabri’s deportation

We are worried that Sabri may be deported or sent out of Malaysia.

This may be conceived as an attempt to ‘cover up’ the possible wrongful actions of the police, immigration department, prison department, prosecution, the employer, the courts and the government that caused an innocent man to be wrongfully charged, convicted and sentenced to 11 months imprisonment and five strokes of the whip.

Sending Sabri out of Malaysia may impede his quest for justice, whereby all legal actions reasonably will have to be commenced in Malaysia and Sabri’s absence from the country may be detrimental to his enforcing his rights.

As it is, Sabri has already commenced a claim for reinstatement by reason of wrongful dismissal at the Industrial Relations Department, which is progressing and will be referred to the Industrial Court.

Sabri wants to work and live legally in Malaysia, and his wife is also a migrant worker in the country.

Sabri’s claims against Malaysia

Initial investigations have shown that the government, the police, the Immigration Department, the prosecutors, the Prison Department and maybe even the employer may be liable for the grave injustice that has befallen Sabri.

Sabri had to spend almost 94 days in prison, and 14 days in detention. He was wrongly whipped five times on June 23, despite there being an appeal that was filed on April 22 and yet to be heard.

Tawau prison

Sabri may also have a claim against the Indonesian government and his lawyer.

The Prison Department, in their letter dated July 18, stated that the whipping was only carried out after they received a letter from the Sessions Court, saying that there were no appeals from any party. This was false as there was an appeal yet to be heard.

The Immigration Department also furnished false records about Sabri, which also led to the court being misled into believing that Sabri was an undocumented migrant, who had entered and remained illegally in Malaysia.

Besides the Malaysian government and its various departments, Sabri may also have a cause of action against the Indonesian government and the lawyer.

Rights violation

The speedy sending of migrants out of Malaysia, even when they have valid claims against their employer and/or others, which requires the physical presence of the complainant/claimant at the law enforcement departments and/or courts, has denied many a migrant from even being able to claim their rights using the available legal avenues in Malaysia.

Calls for confirmation of whether migrant workers have existing rights/claims or ongoing cases before sending them out of Malaysia have yet received a positive response.

Therefore, we:

- Call on Malaysia and/or Indonesia not to cause Sabri to be sent out of Malaysia before he can exercise all his rights/claims in Malaysian avenues of justice, including his present claim for reinstatement by reason of wrongful dismissal at the Industrial Department/Court;

- Call on all parties to not threaten, deceive and/or pressure Sabri from exercising his right to claim damages, compensation and justice from relevant parties that have unjustly deprived Sabri of his freedoms and rights, and caused his sufferings; and

- Call on the government to ensure that Sabri can continue to work and stay legally in Malaysia until all his claims for justice are determined and satisfied.

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For and on behalf of the listed 19 groups:

Aliran
Madpet (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)
Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) Asia Pacific Region
WH4C (Workers Hub For Change)
North South Initiative
Black Women for Wages for Housework, US
Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL), Cambodia
Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC), Malaysia
Club Employees Union Peninsular Malaysia
Haiti Action Committee
Labour Law Reform Coalition, Malaysia
Network of Action For Migrants in Malaysia (NAMM)
Sabah Plantation Industry Employees Union, Malaysia
Sabah Timber Industry Employees Union (STIEU)
Union of Forestry Employee Sarawak (UFES)
Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy
The William Gomes Podcast, UK
Timber Employee Union Peninsular Malaysia
Women of Color/Global Women’s Strike, US and UK

- Mkini

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The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.