Raids don’t solve problem of undocumented migrants, say activists

 

A total of 175 migrants were detained, including 115 Myanmar nationals, in Tuesday’s raid. (Immigration department pic)

PETALING JAYA: Migrant rights activists have condemned an immigration raid which resulted in the arrest of 175 foreigners, including refugees, at a Kajang bus terminus on Tuesday.

North-South Initiative executive director Adrian Pereira described the raid as “futile,” saying that such operations do not solve the root cause of the undocumented migrants problem.

“Malaysia needs to ensure the safety of migrant workers in all sectors. Asylum seekers in the process of obtaining UN refugee cards should be given added protection due to their vulnerable status,” he told FMT.

Once the asylum seekers are hauled to immigration detention centres, the refugee agency UNHCR would no longer have access to them in order to complete their applications or resettlement, he said.

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The 175 detained on Tuesday comprised 115 Myanmar nationals, 33 Indonesians, 13 Bangladeshis, nine Nepalis, four Sri Lankans and one Indian national, according to immigration chief Khairul Dzaimee Daud.

Some of them were UNHCR cardholders from the Shan ethnic group in Myanmar with family members staying here, he said.

But his team also found that some of the immigrants had fake work documents. UNHCR cardholders from Rakhine were also found to have brought in undocumented foreigners to stay with them.

Pereira suggested that human rights commission Suhakam make it mandatory for immigration raids to be carried out only in their presence to prevent abuse by enforcement officers.

He warned that without such protection, the high stress levels and sense of hopelessness faced by the undocumented migrants could lead them to dire consequences.

He was alluding to a recent incident where a 28-year-old Myanmar refugee threw his three children off a Middle Ring Road 2 overpass before taking his own life.

Sentul district police chief Beh Eng Lai had said the man, a UNHCR cardholder, had mental health issues over the past year after recovering from Covid-19.

Another activist, John Quinley of Fortify Rights, called out the irony in the way the government was handling Myanmar refugees.

“Malaysia is rightfully calling for justice and accountability for the crimes against humanity in Myanmar by the junta. However, during the immigration raid Malaysian authorities arrested 115 Myanmar nationals,” he said.

Quinley told FMT that instead of detaining refugees from Myanmar, the government should be providing them with protection. - FMT