FOLLOWING the Government’s decision to clampdown on undocumented migrants during lockdown, Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy said the decision would be detrimental during a public health crisis.
“It is baffling that the Immigration Department would again decide to undertake such an exercise during this public health emergency which is becoming increasingly dire.
“Last year’s enforcement activities resulted in thousands of people from the migrant communities being left vulnerable and becoming infected in detention due to those operations,” said its CEO Azrul Mohd Khalib.
Yesterday, UNI-Malaysia Labour Centre (UNI-MLC) president Datuk Mohamed Shafie BP Mammal lashed out at Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin for targetting illegal immigrants during a national Emergency.
“He is not being matured and totally unprofessional. This is not the time to go raid illegal immigrants as we need their cooperation to contain COVID-19.
“Malaysia is in crisis and the Government should look into a ‘cooling off period’ for illegal immigrants. Hamzah can’t even solve domestic problems but he wants to go after foreigners now,” he told FocusM.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) also added that locking up undocumented migrants in detention centres will overcrowd the premises, risking COVID-19 infection further.
Widening trust deficit
Echoing the duo’s argument, Azrul described the decision as a major mistake, which would create a trust deficit among vulnerable community from getting screened and treated for COVID-19.
“This will be the second time that lockdowns are used as an opportunity to conduct immigration enforcement operations.
“Last year, despite assuring undocumented migrants that they would not be detained, especially those seeking to test and medical care, the Government went ahead and embarked on a massive immigration crackdown in areas under lockdown.
“Such action will defeat our public health objectives and threaten our effort to achieve herd immunity,” he stated.
Azrul then cautioned the Government that Malaysia’s COVID-19 cases were not the same as last year, as the nation is now undergoing 4th wave of the pandemic where the situation is grimmer.
He added that thousands are getting infected daily, with more being hospitalised and dozens losing their lives.
“If permitted to proceed, immigration operations could result in multiple spreader events, massive spikes of infection among migrants, before and during detention, adding new cases where there were few or none before,” he reminded. – May 31, 2021
