KUALA LUMPUR – Countries whose citizens are being held in Malaysian detention centres for immigration offences must help expedite the documentation process for their deportation, analysts say.
Crime analyst Kamal Affendi Hashim said this was necessary to overcome the problem of overcrowding in the country’s immigration depots.
However, he acknowledged that deportation can be a tricky issue with foreigners from certain countries, such as the Rohingyas as they are not recognised as citizens by both Myanmar and Bangladesh.
“Since no country recognises them as citizens, this has made the repatriation process impossible.
“This has caused overcrowding in immigration depots to the point that the government has to lease former National Service camps to be used as detention centres,” he said when commenting on the breakout at the Sg Bakap immigration depot in Kedah early yesterday where 528 Rohingya detainees escaped.
Kamal is of the view that the Malaysian government has done its best in looking after the welfare and comfort of foreigners detained at detention centres throughout the country.
“The government has spent a lot of money to look after the welfare of these foreigners at the immigration depots, in fact, food for a detained immigrant is estimated at RM40 per person per day.
“Malaysia has played its part in looking after the affairs of these illegal immigrants, and now the countries of origin of these immigrants also need to play their part and expedite the documentation process so that they can be deported as soon as possible,” he said.
Concurring with Kamal, crime analyst Datuk Shahul Hamid Abdul Rahim said the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) must play a bigger role in helping Malaysia address the problem of the Rohingyas.
As the body responsible for refugee issues, UNHCR must assist Malaysia in finding a third country to receive the refugees, he said.
“The Foreign Ministry also needs to play its role in the issue by holding discussions with the Myanmar government so that they accept and relocate their citizens.
“The issue involving the Rohingyas has dragged on for too long, their entry here (Malaysia) has caused the government to spend millions of ringgit to feed them,” he said.
Shahul said the Home Ministry also needed to provide detention depots that were more suitable for the Rohingyas as they are often detained for longer than other illegal immigrants.
He said depots that do not have the appropriate facilities and security features will cause inconvenience and in the event of a riot, there will be escape attempts as what happened at the Sg Bakap depot yesterday.
“When this happens, the community will blame Immigration Department staff despite it not being their fault, and I believe they are highly trained in handling detainees,” he said.
In the 4.30am incident yesterday, 528 Rohingya detainees escaped from the depot following a riot.
Six of them died after being hit by vehicles on the North-South Expressway while 130 detainees, comprising 99 men, 21 women, five boys and five girls are still on the run. – Bernama, April 21, 2022
