By Maria Chin Abdullah
I AM appalled by this call-out from the Government to the public to report on illegal immigrants and undocumented migrants.
This is totally an unacceptable and disgraceful act. Minister Home Affairs, Hamzah Zainuddin has gone obsessive and irrational over the need to arrest and/or detain these immigrants.
This effort to hunt, arrest and possible deport tactic is too extreme and must stop. They are not animals nor
criminals but are humans beings.
This confirms that the Perikatan Nasional-Barisan Nasional Government and in particular Minister Hamzah Zainuddin does not understand why the need to achieve the herd immunity that they had been talking about.
There are between three to four million undocumented migrants and about 100,000 refugees who are already in our community and mingling with our citizens because they are employed in our industries, services, entertainment and other economic activities.
Some have been in Malaysia for many years and have families with them as well.
The primary and urgent objective of the Government is for all to be vaccinated or at least 80% of the population in Malaysia because by so doing it not only protect the immigrants but all Malaysian citizens as well.
On June 2 alone, we lost 126 lives in one day. How many more lives do we need to sacrifice before the Government comes to their senses?
Seriously, we all need to be vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity and to bring back some normalcy to our lives. The present strict measures being used will only force the immigrants to go deeper into hiding and no amount of coaxing and reporting will bring them out.
So how can we achieve herd immunity if these three to four million people are not vaccinated?
Other countries with bigger population and probably more or less migrants in their communities have been able to resolve their vaccination programmes without the hunt and arrest tactic and their population are now able to move around freely in their own countries.
Knowing there is trust deficit on the Government, it needs to be more compassionate and encouraging. The migrants and refugees need to be assured that they will be protected and not be arrested when they come forward to get screen tested and vaccinated.
Hamzah Zainuddin’s hardline approach has to end and the Cabinet Ministers must now step in immediately to give 100% assurance that vaccination will be provided to all migrants and refugees, regardless of their status, so that in the long run we save lives of all. – June 5, 2021
