KUALA LUMPUR – The Immigration Department's move to deport 1,086 Myanmar nationals against the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s order can be viewed as contemptuous, said constitutional lawyer Datuk Seri Jahaberdeen Yunoos.
But he added that the department yesterday said the Myanmar nationals did so voluntarily.
“Active disobedience of a clear court order is contemptuous. If the Myanmar nationals left voluntarily, it cannot be a breach of the order,” he told The Vibes.
He added that if the Immigration Department is hauled to court over the breach, the burden is on the department to prove that the Myanmar nationals left voluntarily.
“The Immigration Department would not be in breach if the Myanmar nationals wanted to return home, if the order was not to deport forcibly.”
Meanwhile, lawyer Kuhan Manokaran questioned some of the discrepancies in the deportation exercise, asking why out of the 1,200 Myanmar nationals that were supposed to be deported, only 1,086 were returned.
“In my opinion, this is a willful attempt by the Immigration Department to ignore a court order. It certainly constitutes contempt of court, although at this juncture, given that of the 1,200 individuals, 1,086 have been deported, it seems pointless further arguing this point.
“Why or on what grounds were these individuals deported while the remaining were not, is unknown and irrelevant at this point,” Kuhan told The Vibes.
He also said despite political or diplomatic considerations that may relate to this issue, it is a course of natural justice that parties abide by judicial decisions.
He gave the example of Sirul Azhar, one of the convicted persons in the Altantuya murder who fled to Australia.
Kuhan said the Australian government refused to deport Sirul despite Malaysia’s extradition request, because local laws prohibit extradition to countries with capital punishment.
“Unfortunately, this move by the Immigration Department signals the lack of respect they have for Malaysia’s rule of law.”
As for lawyer Lim Wei Jiet, he told The Vibes that he was shocked by the Immigration Department's disregard of the court order and questioned the motives behind the deportation.
“I’m terribly shocked at the authorities’ disregard for a court order to stop the deportation. The haste in which this entire operation is executed, despite the judiciary’s clear order to do otherwise, raises more questions on the motives of the parties involved.”
Yesterday, the Immigration Department announced the deportation exercise involving 1,086 Myanmar nationals.
The Immigration Department said the exercise involved a Myanmar navy vessel that repatriated the individuals, adding that the nationals were agreeable to the deportation and it did not involve asylum seekers or those from the Rohingya community. – The Vibes, February 24, 2021
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