THE Perikatan Nasional government has been insistent on deporting refugees, including the very recent deportation of 1,086 people to Myanmar, despite a court order to halt such an exercise.
As Malaysia faces immense challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the economic crisis, the government should not spend its remaining effort and resources targeting refugees and undocumented migrants.
Apart from that, any deportation of refugees and undocumented migrants at this juncture would only create a lose-lose situation because the financial situation and international standing of our country will be severely affected.
With the consent of the Malaysian government, the Myanmar military government sent navy ships to the Malaysian navy’s base in Lumut, Perak, to bring Myanmar refugees back to Myanmar on February 23.
This happened even though Amnesty International Malaysia and Asylum Access Malaysia obtained a temporary stay on February 23 to suspend the government’s plan to deport the Myanmar refugees.
It is, therefore, appalling that the Immigration Department blatantly went ahead with its deportation plan despite a court order against it. Such an act is in contempt of court and disregards the rule of law.
Besides that, the Immigration Department also said via its statement that the abovementioned action was only part of the plan to deport refugees and undocumented migrants.
The Home and Foreign Ministries said they would obtain the agreement of countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh to repatriate their citizens currently detained in Malaysia’s immigration detention centres.
As Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has publicly promised that the government will not arrest undocumented foreign workers who come forward to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, now, the Immigration Department is not walking the talk. How can the government convince all undocumented foreign workers and their employers from participating in the vaccination programme to achieve the goal of herd immunity?
In the wake of the predicament caused by the economic downturn and the spread of the virus, spending time and resources on repatriating refugees and undocumented migrants is not helping to improve our financial situation.
To make matters worse, Malaysia’s reputation was badly affected because the Perikatan Nasional government indirectly exacerbated the persecution of Rohingya refugees and others seeking political asylum.
Also, given the current complex and volatile international situation, the government should not act hastily but formulate a long-term and sustainable plan to deal with the issue of refugees and undocumented migrants.
For instance, many industries are now facing labour shortages. Instead of going to great lengths to repatriate refugees, the government should instead grant refugees short-term work permits so that they can be deployed in economic areas that are in urgent need of labour and recovery to create a win-win situation. – The Vibes, February 24, 2021
Chiong Yoke Kong is Dapsy deputy chairman and Tanah Rata assemblyman
