GEORGE TOWN – Human Rights group Tenaganita has appealed to the government to not reprimand undocumented migrants and instead allow them to return to their homelands.
Tenaganita director Aegile Fernandez told The Vibes that a huge number of migrants in the country had indicated their desire to return home due to the economic situation in the country following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The government can introduce another pardon exercise for these undocumented migrants to return to their homeland, like it had done in the past.
“The migrants are from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, and Vietnam, and have decided to buy their air tickets to return home,” she said.
Fernandez said the government could make arrangements with the respective countries on the repatriation exercise.
“In this respect, we hope the government will act like a gentleman and help those who have indicated their desire to return home and not go after them.
“We hope the government will not hunt down refugees who come forward to register in order to return to their homeland.
“We feel there is no point prosecuting and imprisoning these undocumented migrants since we have to feed them in our prisons,” she said.
Fernandez commended the government’s decision to vaccinate the migrants in the country as this would help to see the end of the pandemic in the country.
She said it was a positive move and reflected Malaysia’s humanity towards migrants.
Commenting on the government’s decision to hand over Rohingya migrants to Myanmar, Fernandez said the safety of Rohingya refugees were at risk if they were handed over to Myanmar’s military junta.
“We want the government to review its decision to hand over Rohingya refugees to the military.
“The fate of refugees will be unpredictable if they are handed over to the military as there is no assurance that the junta will not treat the Rohingyas in a ruthless manner,” said Fernandez.
Myanmar’s military seized power following the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratically elected leaders after a coup on February 1.
Troops patrol the streets and a night-time curfew has been enforced, with a one-year state of emergency having been declared.
Anti-coup demonstrators have been demanding since the last 10 days for the release of their elected leaders, including Suu Kyi, following the military coup. – The Vibes, February 21, 2021
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