JOHOR PKR Youth legal bureau chief Lau Yi Leong has called for the sacking of Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin following the latter’s remarks on the death of migrants in Sabah immigration detention centres.
Commenting on the issue yesterday (June 28) Hamzah said that deaths are unpredictable and can occur to anyone anywhere and at any time, adding that such occurrences are unfortunate and cannot be avoided.
According to Lau, the Government has not indicated any intention to investigate the surging cases of deaths in immigration custody
“If the government still maintains any belief in human rights, I call upon Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to immediately remove Hamzah Zainudin as Home Minister,” Malaysiakini has reported Lau as saying.
He further urged the Government to form a Royal Commission of Inquiry and look into the conditions of the immigration detention centres, the widespread corrupt practice within the Immigration Department as well as the rising number of deaths in immigration detention centres.
The move must be made with a view to implement urgent reforms to the immigration detention centres, he added.
Hamzah also said yesterday that it would be great if he had the ability to know when someone is about to die.
“If someone is detained and suddenly dies, whose fault is that? This is something unfortunate. Anyone can die anywhere and at any time,” he told reporters yesterday when asked about deaths in Sabah detention centres.
Hamzah was commenting on a report released by the Sovereign Migrant Workers Coalition (KBMB) on June 25 revealing that the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta has recorded the deaths of 149 Indonesians in five Sabah detention centres over 18 months between 2021 and 2022.
The KBMB report “A Report from Hell: Conditions of the Immigration Detention Centres in Sabah” further detailed the appalling conditions in these detention centres.
Lau also cited figures revealed by the Home Ministry in Parliament that 23 detainees had died in immigration detention centres between January and June 2020.
Compared to the KBMB report, Lau said the situation has worsened as the figures showed an increase in the average number of deaths per month, from an average of 3.8 deaths every month to an average of 8.3 deaths every month. – June 29, 2022
