The Malaysian Insight

RIGHTS activisists urged enforement agencies to stop raids on migrants and check their employers and agents instead, as authorities ramp up operations to round up undocumented visitors.

They said midnight raids are inhumane and should stop immediately.

The workers’ travel and work documents are in the keeping of their employers or agents, which is why the majority of the foreigners do not have their documents on them when they are detained by the authorities during a raid, they said.

“This is very unfair to the migrant workers,” said Tenaganita executive director Glorene Das.

“The raids should be conducted when their employers are around. Then this issue can be easily resolved.”

Das was commenting on the recent raid on a construction site in Dengkil, Selangor where Immigration Department arrested 280 men and 29 women, mainly Indonesians and Bangladeshis.

“There is little opportunity for migrants who are arrested to get justice especially if their agents, employers or other middlemen have committed fraud,” she said.

Human rights activists are also concerned about the fate of the detainees after they are picked up.

They said it is not known if the employers would take the trouble to get their workers released.

If no one comes for to workers, their respective embassies would be informed before they are deported.

Civil society groups have turned to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) and the Bar Council for help.

Adrian Pereira of North South Initiative said the Immigration Department should be going after the agents and employers instead of treating the migrant workers inhumanely.

“Going after migrant workers will not make any difference as there will still be many of them being trafficked into the country,” Pereira said, adding the foreign workers are victims.

Putrajaya has come under fire from human rights activists in recent weeks for its raids against illegal aliens.

This followed Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin’s announcement that undocumented migrants will be rounded up during the lockdown period from June 1-14, which has now been extended until June 28.

Opposition lawmakers argued that such operations could derail efforts to achieve herd immunity.

Hamzah, however, insisted the raids would continue.

He had said there was no need to offer amnesty as illegal foreign workers had the option of signing up on a recalibration programme to become legalised.

Under the programme, employers in the construction, manufacturing, plantation and agriculture sectors are not penalised if they register the undocumented foreign workers in their employ.

More than 200,000 illegal workers have taken advantage of the programme. About half applied to stay on to work in the country while the other half asked for repatriation to their respective home countries.

Critics said the raids force illegal aliens underground which increases the risk of Covid-19 infection.

Beyond Borders founder Mahi Ramakrishnan said the government has always taken the easy way out by nabbing migrants while letting exploitative Malaysian employers and recruitment agents go free.

“These raids must stop and the government needs to have the political will to go after employers and middlemen,” she said.

New Su Shern of Project Liber8 said that the focus must be on public health.

“We need to get everyone in the country vaccinated regardless of their status and that includes undocumented migrants

“Cracking down on migrants and carrying out raids at this time is just going to drive them into hiding and derail the efforts taken by so many civil society organisations to persuade them to get vaccinated,” she said. – June 23, 2021.