KUALA LUMPUR – A foreign spouses’ support group has reiterated its call for the authorities to free Simon Adavize Momoh, a Nigerian national with a Malaysian wife and children who faces deportation.
Family Frontiers Malaysia programme manager Melinda Anne Sharlini expressed concern that Momoh’s young kids will be left in a quandary as he is their primary carer, with their mother working full-time in the travel industry.
“Simon is very concerned for his family, and has asked them to remain strong. He continues to be positive,” she told The Vibes when asked about how he is doing in detention.
She said his case highlights some of the problems faced by foreign spouses in Malaysia, among them, difficulty in getting employed.
(Foreign) spouses experience challenges securing employment in Malaysia, primarily due to the statement of prohibition on employment on their visas. Employers are reluctant to hire these spouses upon seeing the statement.
“Although employment is allowed with endorsement to work from the Immigration Department, once the spouse secures an offer letter, it can be a tedious bureaucratic process.”
Momoh’s wife, Low Kar Hui, was last week served a deportation order against him, requiring that she make arrangements for his flight back to Nigeria.
It came after he was arrested on March 15 on suspicion of drink-driving.
Momoh pleaded guilty to the charge, and paid a RM12,000 fine. However, he was not released, and found himself transferred to an immigration depot.
His full habeas corpus hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
In a statement on Saturday, the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist called for Momoh’s release, describing his predicament as an “injustice”, and urged the authorities to take into account the well-being of his wife and children.
The cathedral said although it would like to believe that decisions made by the authorities are just, determined by law and human rights, and guided by a fair conscience, the case raises the question of whether the system lacks clarity and fairness.
Since Simon Momoh’s arrest on March 15 — 31 days after Simon’s detention — we are finally notified of the grounds of...
Posted by Family Frontiers Malaysia on Thursday, April 15, 2021
It asked whether people’s background, race and appearance, as well as conscious and subconscious biases, play a bigger role than actual legislation in determining outcomes.
Momoh is a parishioner of the cathedral, it said, and known to be a loving husband and doting father.
Those who know him are saddened and shocked by the turn of events, it added.
“We are not here to stand in the way of justice,” said parish priest Msgr Leonard Lexson in a statement.
“Our faith teaches us that our God is righteous and desires justice – but in the case of Simon, we believe he has already served his sentence and paid his dues.
“We hope that those making the decisions will keep in mind his young children and the distress they must be going through.” – The Vibes, April 19, 2021
